Pickaxe
by MathewtonSmashBrawler
Summary: Since the beginning of this reality, a race of beings known as "humans/miners" have existed in the world we call "Minecraft." For generations, they've spawned, builded, fought, struggled… and died. However, their story never, ends. And when a new miner spawns, he'll alter the story… forever. Rated K Plus To Be Safe. Font: Minecrafter by MadPixel. Other Title Images Belong To Mojang
1. Overworlder (Book 1) Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1: Spawned_**

The sun began to rise over the world, gracing it with it's presence yet again.

He slowly came to his senses as he watched the beautiful sunrise. He was in front of a river, with a forest to his back. Several animals were wandering about the landscape with no particular ambition. He could feel the presence of dark forces fleeing… or at least ignoring him.

He snapped himself back to reality. He needed to do something.

He turned toward the forest. There were several chickens roaming about. A few sheep. A cow. But there were also trees. LOTS of trees. He began to approach one, slowly and surely. It was a beautiful specimen. Oak. But there was also some birch to the side. He'd collect those later. For now, he needed the tree's wood. But how would he do that? He paused

…

He looked at his fist.

…

He began punching the tree.

…

 _ **CRACK!**_

The wood block turned small. It fell into his hands.

He didn't need it at the moment. Then it disappeared. He blinked for a few seconds. He tried willing it back. It appeared in his hand. He placed it carefully on a grass block. It grew back to normal size. He punched it again to take it back. This time he dropped it. It was still small. He picked it back up again. He realized that the block he took from the tree was right in the middle. It didn't even fall over.

He didn't have time to make sense of it all. He needed to gather more wood.

He kept punching the wood blocks. When he was done he had 15 of them. He looked up in the sky. The sun was about to be halfway over with it's journey. He came back to the ravine, and there was a cave on the other side. There was also some sheep. He would need them for later…

For now, his focus was the cave. It's entrance seemed like a pretty good place to start work. With some minor struggle, he swam across the ravine. The second he stepped out of it, he wasn't wet. Weird. He ran to the cave entrance. He took out a wood block. He focused on it for a while. It began to shake. Suddenly, it split into four separate wooden planks. He looked at the collection of wood in his hands. He tried willing it back together. The blocks shook again and merged, but instead of turning into a wood block, they turned into something else.

They turned into a crafting table.

He wasted no time getting to work from there. He took out 11 of his wooden blocks, and turned them all into planks. Of his 44 planks, he set 18 aside. He decided to try putting two blocks on top of one another on the crafting grid. Once again, they began to vibrate, transforming into 4 sticks. He did the same with his other 24 wood blocks. Then he decided to get tricky. Cautiously, he placed two wood planks and a stick in a vertical row, with the stick at the bottom. To his surprise & joy, they began to shake…

...and they fused into a wooden sword.

He stood there for a few seconds. He picked up his creation in awe and wonder. For fun he slashed the weapon into the air. It didn't sound like it could do massive damage… just enough. He put it to the side and continued crafting. At this point, he had a pickaxe, a hoe, a shovel, and an axe. He looked to the sky again, and jumped out of shock.

The day was just a quarter away from ending.

He began to panic. Something told him the dark was not a friendly companion. But what could he do? Sure he had a sword, but it was still pretty basic! He couldn't build a shelter the way he was panicking! Then he turned to the cave. He noticed the stone on the floor. He pulled out his pickaxe, and started to mine. He didn't need much stone; he just needed enough to build… something. He stopped when he had 8 pieces. He quickly ran to his crafting table, placing the now cobblestone blocks everywhere but the middle. The blocks fused, creating the something he needed: a furnace.

He made a silent prayer of thanks to the universe, and continued his work.

He grabbed four wood planks and four wood blocks. He set the planks at the bottom for fuel, and began to burn the blocks. But he still needed to collect more resources in the meantime! Luckily, he spotted the sheep. His hand suddenly carried a wooden sword.

He only killed the three white sheep in the area. The had left some meat and three wool blocks before departing this reality. He didn't need the meat yet. He just needed the wool. He considered putting his plan into practice already, but the furnace was still burning. He still needed one last component. He looked to the ground… and picked out a shovel.

When the furnace had finished burning, there was a gigantic hole near the cave. He had already picked up 64 pieces of dirt, which was slightly more than he needed. He quickly climbed out of the hole. There was only a few moments of daylight left… He took out the charcoal from the furnace, the wooden planks now an intangible memory. Surely enough, they were just what he needed. Before he could use them however, he needed to take care of more pressing matters. He used his remaining crafted resources to build an extra sword, pickaxe, and two shovels. He then put the 3 wool blocks horizontally over three wood blocks, which suddenly fused into a bed.

Nightfall was seconds away.

He used his pickaxe and axe to take back the furnace and the crafting table, respectively. He then took out the 4 sticks and four charcoal pieces, and willed them together. When he opened his hands, he was holding 16 torches. He quickly pulled out his dirt blocks, and darted for a clearing in the forest. Once he was there, he jumped… and placed the block below him. Then he did it again… and again… and again. He began hearing dreadful moans, spine chilling rattles, and malicious hissing. They slowly started to dim as he got higher, but were still present regardless. Finally, he stopped when he reached 60 blocks. He proceeded with caution to the edge, hunching over and walking slowly. Since it was dark, he could barely make out small darts of movement from one place to another. The ominous sounds of the night continued to hinder his train of thought. The darkness surrounded him on every corner. Then he suddenly remembered… the darkness…

He quickly pulled out a torch and placed it on top of the block.

He was tempted to yell at the sudden burst of light, but figured it wouldn't improve his chances of living. While it was nice and bright up there, he still couldn't make out the shapes of the movement down below. After grasping his situation, he took out another dirt block. Slightly hesitant, he placed it on the side of his tower. Then he waited… and waited… Being impatient, he stepped on the block… it didn't fall. Relieved, he placed another dirt block next to it, and the placed his bed. It wasn't an ideal setup, but it worked. Assured that he was currently safe, he climbed into his bed. The world began to fade, as he drifted off to sleep…

This was only the beginning.

* * *

 _Pickaxe_

 _A Minecraft FanFiction_

 _Book One: Overworlder_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, thank you for reading! I wanted to continue writing FanFiction, but I wasn't quite comfortable with going back to Smash Bros. just yet, so I'm making a Minecraft FanFiction! I'm just going to warn you guys right now, I have VERY,** **VERY** **little experience with the actual game, but I do have some** _ **decent**_ **knowledge on it, so please, bear with me. Ok? Ok. Bye!**


	2. Overworlder Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2: Gathering_**

He broke the shovel on the way down.

The good news was he had three, initially. After he took the bed and the torch back, he began digging his way back down. Several times, for whatever reason, he had a sense of dread that he was about to fall and die at any moment. Regardless, he made his way back down to the ground, and pulled out his sword. He wasn't taking any chances on his second day. He needed to gather resources. But what would he have to start?

He decided to recap on his inventory.

He found torches, and two wooden pickaxes.

Needless to say, mining was his first priority.

He wandered toward the cave. He didn't notice it before, but there was a waterfall where the ravine crashed into the canyon side. A thing of natural beauty. He admired it from his perch, just before the cave entrance. It was a rather peaceful few moments. But of course, _something_ was watching. Well, two things. They were both green. They had no arms…

...and they had four legs each.

He noticed them out of the corner of his eye at first. One of them was a bit farther off staring into the distance, but the other one was approaching him. He didn't like the looks of it. He got his sword. They were both close to the edge. Sure, the weird green thing with strange black facial features looked harmless, but he couldn't take any chances. It was a few blocks away from him now. He could've taken it in any direction.

Of course he tried hitting it with the sword.

Now, it didn't kill the green thing. No, barely a scratch. However, it **DID** toss it over the cliffside, sending it to a rather painful demise. He saw as the creature hunched over, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. He could've sworn there was an aura of death around it. It looked red. Unfortunately, the thing's untimely demise got the attention of it's friend…

He began to panic. The other green thing was surprisingly fast, and it had a blue like aura about it. Logically, he had a choice: see what this thing could do, or die by cliff fall. When it was close, it began to make a hissing sound. His brain kicked into overdrive. He ran for the cliffside. His feet were off the ground, but the thing decided it was tired of hissing. And then?

 **BOOM!**

His vision darted. He was barely holding on.

He crashed into the ravine. It took all his focus just to paddle to shore. Never had he been so terrified. He realized he was at the place where the first thing fell. What was it called? He wanted to know the name. Those things were dangerous.

... _Creeper_.

He flinched. He felt like he had a headache. Since when did he know the name of random creatures? Well, save for sheep and the like. It didn't matter. He knew they were called creepers, and that was enough for him. Then he noticed something falling from the ledge. It wasn't gonna hit the water...but it wasn't gonna die either. It was another creeper.

He stabbed it the moment it landed, and watched it disappear into smoke.

He then noticed it dropped two lumps. He picked them up. They smelled vaguely metallic and… explosive. He noticed the first creeper dropped only one lump. He took that one, too. Now what was this called…? Oh, wait, no-

 _Gunpowder_.

He smacked himself in the face. He knew things he should've had no intent on knowing, but here he was, knowing them anyway. He shoved the gunpowder down to his inventory, as strange green orbs began to gravitate towards him. He had a similar situation with the sheep from yesterday. Regardless, he then realized there was stone in the canyon face. He only mined 8 pieces yesterday, but he crafted them into the furnace.

Wisely enough, he decided to get more stone.

While he was mining into the canyon face, he noticed some of the stone had black flecks, and others had grey flecks. He had already gathered plenty of cobblestone, so he decided to try his luck. He began mining the black fleck stone, and to his surprise, several lumps of coal fell forth. _Hallelujah, no more burning wood!_ But then he came across they grey flecked stone. It took an awfully long time for his wooden pickaxe to mine it out, but finally, it cracked. But it yielded no precious materials. It just withered into dust, and disappeared like it never existed.

He **needed** better tools.

He pulled out his crafting table, as well as two leftover wood blocks. He turned them into sticks, and then took out 9 cobblestone blocks. After a few moments, he had a shiny new set of stone tools. He eagerly tested out his stone pickaxe. It harvested the grey flecked block, but it felt useless… at least, for now. Then he remembered: what time was it? He had been so lost in mining, he forgot all about the time! He needed to get back to the surface! He quickly scrambled out of the "cave." It was still daylight, thank heavens! Then, he noticed another mineral in the canyon face, within a different cave. There was another creature beside it. It looked quite different from a creeper. For starters, it's body was primarily horizontal. It was small, dark blue, had eight legs, and deep red eyes.

He could already tell the thing was dangerous. He needed to kill it.

He was tempted to use his new stone sword, but he figured it would be best to get the old weapons out for the count. Other than that, he needed to come up with a better strategy than with the creepers. The high ground seemed like a safe bet. He slowly made the climb out of it's way at first. Then he slowly got closer. The creature's back was turned, so it would be easier to strike a hit. He gathered his courage…

...and swung his sword.

The first and second strikes landed perfectly. But the creature got smart, and jumped on this level. It lunged for him, and bit him on the leg. He stumbled back in pain. He could feel himself fading… No. He couldn't. He struck his sword one more time. The creature was hit. It died. And what did it leave? Two pieces of string.

He picked it up begrudgingly. _Stupid Cave Spiders_ …

He decided to just mine the gravel. As he was mining, he realized that every now and then, the gravel would rarely become flint. That could be useful down the line. He also noticed that when he broke the block below the gravel, it would fall. Something most blocks didn't do. He finally finished when his pickaxe broke. Luckily, he had another one. He checked his inventory. He had 36 blocks of gravel, and 4 pieces of flint.

He hoped it was worth it.

Nightfall was several moments away. He needed to make his dirt pillar again. But first, he needed to get back to the clearing. He swam up the cascading waterfall with some minor struggle, narrowly losing his breath. He was about to hop down to a minor lower ledge just before the clearing, but he noticed something. Another cave spider… no. This one was bigger. It had a blackish-greyish color scheme. But it still had those eight legs and deep red eyes…

 _This was a regular spider_.

It was blocking the entrance to the clearing. He needed to get past it. But nightfall was close, and the thing looked more hostile than the cave spider did in daylight. He only had one choice. He pulled out the wooden sword. He lunged for the spider with unsettling fury.

It only got one bite in before it's demise.

One of its eyes and another piece of string was all that was left of it. He rubbed his neck. He was so sore and… *grumble* hungry. He didn't have much food. He wasn't so keen on eating his raw lamb chops; that could contract food poisoning! Then he remembered the first thing he did when trying to make sense of the world: punch oak trees. He checked his inventory. Lying within the far reaches were several beautifully glossy red fruits. He scarfed them all down, which, to his surprise, satisfied his hunger… for the time being. He suddenly began to feel better from his battles. But he knew he would have to start thinking long term if he wanted to survive. Three chickens were unfortunately in his line of sight…

Feathers and raw chicken joined his inventory.

He made his way to the clearing, and he began to repeat the process he did the night before. The sounds of the night weren't so noticeable from high above. He laid the torch at the top, set up the platform to place his bed, and crawled under the blankets. The world was so dangerous. He was surprised he even survived today…

...but it wouldn't be too bad if there was some passive company…


	3. Overworlder Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Shelter**_

He needed a shelter.

It just seemed so obvious, he didn't understand why he didn't try to build one sooner. Plus, it would save him a lot of effort from having to craft shovels. He broke another one on the way down. When he got to the ground below, he took note that his inventory was getting a wee bit crowded. He'd solve that problem after building a shelter.

But first he needed the foundation.

He traveled down the nearby waterfall to his makeshift cave. The cobblestone would be a nice basis. He also gathered some more coal and iron ore during the process. Afterwards, he returned to the original cave to continue expanding the ditch he made, in order to get more dirt blocks. He suddenly remembered that there was a weird, powdery block in the canyon, and had to go back and sample some. Apparently, it was called sand. He tried making a staircase for the heck of it, but, well…

Let's just say the stuff is just alternate gravel.

He went back up the waterfall AGAIN, and took out his axe. He needed the wood, for both fuel and building material. When he finished gathering all of the essentials, he headed back to the clearing. He chopped down some nearby trees, and then decided to eat some apples before continuing. He outlined where he wanted the house to be using the cobblestone, resulting in a 12-by-8 outline, with two blocks in the front center left open for the entrance.

…

 **HOLD UP.**

He checked his inventory. He blinked. He checked again. Nope, it was real. He really had _THAT MANY_ supplies in his inventory. He looked at the sky. Crud, it was almost nightfall. He'd have to continue the next day…

* * *

He had to punch his way down since his shovel broke from the get go.

Now that he could continue to focus on building his house (and managing his supplies) He decided to create another crafting table and a furnace. He put them in the bottom right corner of his house, and began making **LOTS** of wood planks. On top of the cobblestone outline, he placed a layer of wood planks. And then he placed a second layer. And then a third. He used some of his other planks to extend off the outline and make a roof. Of course, it was at that moment two realizations struck him:

1) How was he going to deal with the dark? 2) How was he going to get off the roof?

The second one would need to be solved first. That one was easy: gravel. He dropped the gravel off the side of his "house", and effectively created a staircase, to which he merrily hopped onto and back on the ground. He entered his house through the wide open entrance. It was dark. VERY dark. He needed to fix that. He quickly made some sticks, and stuck it to the coal he mined earlier.

He made sure to place just enough along the walls.

He then went back on the roof to place torches there. He didn't want to figure out if those creatures could spawn ANYWHERE in darkness. Since he saw no further purpose for it, he got rid of the gravel staircase (when he was on the ground, of course) and decide to finish of the exterior. He placed cobblestone in the gap of the outline, and some wood in the top layer of the walls. He went back inside to craft something to seal off the entrance, and ended up getting… doors. Handy little things. He placed two of the doors outside in the entrance, and then proceeded to add a few final touches.

He added an outline of dirt around the base of the house, except in front of the entrance, added more torches to the exterior, then went back inside to craft yet another new block: stairs. The first two he placed outside, and the second two he placed inside. **NOW** he could start decorating the interior. He placed his bed in the top left corner. He placed the sand in the furnace, thinking something good would come of it. He then started to craft chests; he ended up crafting nine. He then realized his floor was grass. He looked at his inventory.

Yeah, this was the best way to get rid of the wood.

He took his bed back, and replaced the dirt floor with a wooden one. He put the bed back, and placed one of the chest one block away from it. He put two chests next to each other on the opposite side of the room, effectively creating a large chest, to his surprise. He put another large chest on top of it, and then did the same thing two blocks away. Wait, two blocks…

He made yet another crafting table and furnace.

At this point, the sand had finished smelting, and had turned into glass. It was perfect for windows! He made sure to put windows on all for sides of his house. Now he could tell if nightfall was approaching. And yet he STILL had leftover materials. Mostly wood. Which was perfect. He threw his iron ore into the furnace. The wood that did survive was used to make signs. He used two to write the words "Working Room" for the chest fest, and he used another two to write "Bed Room" for his personal area. When that was finished, so was the iron smelting. He still had just enough wood to cook his chicken meat and lamb chops. He crafted a second set of new stone tools, and a brand new set of _**IRON TOOLS**_. He was strangely interested in the iron pickaxe.

Funnily enough, nightfall came just as he finished emptying his pockets into his bed chest.

It wasn't a problem, though. He simply climbed into bed, and let the world fade away. He didn't need to build another pillar for now. He was in a shelter. A home. He was safe…

...of course, tomorrow there would be a **THUD!** at his doorstep.


	4. Overworlder Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Names, Strangers, and Mining**_

A peaceful awakening? Not so much...

Someone was sliding against his door that morning.

He had heard the dreadful noise a few moments after waking up. He had a good sleep, too! Then, the ear-splitting _**skraaaaaaaaaaaa…**_ suddenly decided to greet his door, promptly followed by a rather worrisome **THUD**. He looked out the window to make sure it wasn't a creeper or a spider. Instead, he found something COMPLETELY different. Even though his vision from the window was limited, he could tell that whatever it was, it wasn't hostile. At least, not yet. But he couldn't just leave it out there, anyway! The poor thing would be left at the mercy (or lack thereof) of the creepers and spiders. Cautiously, he approached the door, a stone sword in hand. He swung it open, and pointed his sword at whatever thing may have tried to enter his house. Except, it was unconscious…

...and it was a girl.

He griped his head in pain, once again suffering the burden of possessing knowledge from who-knows-where. But he could tell this was a girl. Her hair was a beautiful shade of silver, and it slid down to her waist. She wore an emerald-shaded ensemble of a short-sleeve shirt and jeans, with gold sprinkled delicately throughout. She was wearing sandals the color of lapis lazuli, all of which clashed beautifully with her fair skin. She looked just as old as him, too. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to any of that. He was too busy looking at the burn marks.

They. Were. EVERYWHERE.

Across her face, her arms, her legs. He could also spot several bruises here and there, as well as some tears in her clothing. He managed to pry himself from her questionable appearance, and unfortunately noticed a nearby structure. It was a wall of obsidian blocks, with a rather large hole in the middle. There wasn't any obsidian in the corners either, and it looked like an obsidian block was… missing. It didn't help that the entire thing as a whole simply reeked **DOOM AND DESPAIR**. He rapidly shook his head to clear his thoughts. Taking care of the girl came first, questions came later.

The next few minutes were spent awkwardly dragging her into the house and putting her on his bed.

He suddenly realized if he was going to take care of this girl, he was going to need to get more resources. But first, he needed to do some more crafting. He took out his three remaining iron ingots (for now), his 4 pieces of flint, his three pieces of string, six sticks, and three feathers. He started by placing two iron ingots diagonally on his crafting table. They turned into shears. That could come in handy if he needed to make another bed. Then he took a piece of flint and his last iron ingot. They turned into a flint and steel. Maybe he could light a fire? He stacked a piece of flint, a stick, and a feather vertically from top to bottom. They created four arrows. He did this another two times. But how was he going to fire those arrows? He place a sticks in the top center, middle right, and bottom center. He put his pieces of string on the entire left column.

Henceforth, he created his first ever bow.

Now that he had gotten his experimenting out of the way, he made sure to bring a few torches, two stone swords, a pickaxe, an axe, and a shovel, as well as some food. He was going to be gathering A LOT today. He looked back at the girl. She was still a bit unconscious, tossing and turning on his bed. He really hoped he could find some wool. While walking out of his beautiful home, he saw the obsidian structure again. Instinctively, he went in the direction clear from the structure.

Then he saw a sheep, and sheared off three wool blocks for another bed.

He continued until he found a part of the forest practically FILLED with oak trees. He quickly grabbed his stone axe, and began hacking away at the trees. While the wood was an added bonus, he really just needed the apples. He started to head off to the cave in the canyon side, when he came across a herd of cows. His stone sword begged him to use it. And he did. While he didn't get much raw beef from the cows he slaughtered (other than the mental kind), he did somehow acquire 24 pieces of leather. He'd save it for later. Right now he needed to get to the cave. He had a very good feeling…

The only "good feeling" he had at the beginning was slaughtering some zombies who snuck in.

Even so, he decided to torch the place so that he wouldn't have to worry about being jumpscared by such creatures. He started mining as usual, found _PLENTY_ of cobblestone, coal, and iron, but then he found gold. Literally. Staring at him in the face was honest to goodness gold ore. He had to get it! He was about to strike it with his stone pickaxe, but froze. He remembered the first time he tried mining iron ore…

…

…

Okay, he needed to bring out his iron pickaxe.

He struck the gold, and the ore flew into his hands. But there was more. He got a second. A third. A fourth! When he was finished, he had 9 golden ores in his inventory. He looked outside. Darkness was about to envelop the land. He ran out of the cave. He swam up the waterfall. The monsters were starting to show up. The creepers and zombies wandered about aimlessly. Then there were those weird white things. The were holding bows, too. They were thinner than zombies. But they seemed to be more… capable.

Needless to say, he did his best to avoid the skeletons.

Miraculously, he had made it back to the house. He shut the door as fast as he had opened it, and collapsed from relief. Then he noticed his bed was empty. And someone was in his "Working Room." The girl was awake, and it seemed like she was trying to craft something. "Let's see here…" she muttered to herself. "I got the cobblestone, and some blaze powder, but where the heck did I put the rod!?" She was fumbling through her pockets; she looked stressed. "Where are the iron ingots? Ughhhh, did I forget my flint and steel, too!? Darn, I wish I didn't leave them back at the base!" She continued muttering, while he was wondering what was going on in her head. What the heck was blaze powder, or a blaze rod? Why did she need cobblestone and iron? Suddenly, he stepped on the wooden floor. _Creaaak…_

The girl swiveled around and drew her iron sword. Her eyes showed and icy shade of diamond blue on the right and emerald green on the left.

He was terrified. He had already brought the girl home, uneasy as he already was, and now here she was threatening his life. That wasn't exactly the best way one wanted to go out. The two didn't break eye contact for a long time. She tried pulling a sword swing. He managed to dodge, and pulled out the first thing that came to mind from his inventory: a stone pickaxe. Not the best weapon, but good enough. The girl slashed again, but he blocked her with the pickaxe, nullifying any potential damage. The girl muttered under her breath, and he pushed her aside, knocking her into the bed. The girl groaned, as he pulled out his iron pickaxe instead. He held it up against her chest. He could've ended this right here and now.

… of course he didn't.

He put away the iron pickaxe. The girl sat up confused. She was about to slash the jerk who pinned her on the bed of all places, but then she saw him at the "Working Room." He was putting some meat to cook in the furnace, and he took out some wool and wood blocks. After a bit of crafting, he walked over to his "Bedroom," and placed the new bed next to his own. Then he put some gold to smelt in the second furnace. She looked at him, stunned. Why was he doing this? She was about to kill him! The meat finished cooking, and he offered the girl a steak. She was taken aback. She wanted to refuse, but... _grumble_ … she hadn't eaten anything. She reluctantly took the steak, and began to bite it. While she was doing that, he was taking the gold out of the second furnace.

The next few moments were spent in silence.

Finally, she spoke up. "S...sorry…" she whispered. He stopped eating his apple, and looked at her. He held out his hand, as an attempt at truce. She looked at him. Her face was flustered, his face was soft and… friendly. Something she wished she could see more often. With a little giggle, she happily accepted the hand. "My name's Jewel. What's yours?" the girl asked. He was taken by surprise. Name? He didn't think he had one. It wasn't something he thought of as of late. But he did like the name "Jewel." It was fitting for a girl like her.

"Hello, hello? This is reality contacting miner, miner do you copy?"

Jewel's voice snapped him out of his daydream. What was she asking him again? Oh right, a name. He shook his head with a shrug. He didn't have a name, as far as he knew. Jewel rubbed her chin. "You don't have a name? Hmmm…" Suddenly, she snapped her fingers. "Pickaxe," she declared. He stared at her blankly. What about a pickaxe? "That's your name, silly! Pickaxe," Jewel explained. He stared at her, then at the ceiling. He pondered with his pickaxe for a while. "You don't like it?" Jewel asked.

Pickaxe laughed a little bit, and shook his head. "Nah, I don't like it. I love it."


	5. Overworlder Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: The Giver**_

Morning was nice that day.

Jewel woke up to an empty bed beside her. No doubt Pickaxe had gone out to do more gathering. She laughed a bit. His house looked nice, but it was a bit... _minimal_. Surely he noticed that! But how long had he been here for, anyway? He seemed like he knew the terrain at a moderate level. There was no way he could've just popped up in the middle of the landscape. Her brother had told her those types of miners had disappeared a long time ago.

The thought of her brother, Stan, made her feel sad… and stupid…

She KNEW that it would've been best to just take her items with her from the Nether base, but NO, that was too easy. Parker had made it perfectly clear that all she needed from her stuff was some foodstuffs, a set of iron armor, and her diamond pickaxe. Looking back, she would've been better off taking all of her stuff from the Nether base, or annoying Parker enough for him to send her back to the village. But the village needed the resources from the Nether, which was why the diamond pickaxe was as good a weapon as it was a harvesting tool.

Too bad she broke her beloved pickaxe after closing the portal.

She clutched her aching head. She was thinking too much. So what if she had left her most valuable items back at the Nether base? ...okay, it was pretty bad, but she was still alive! Thank goodness Stan managed to bring extra obsidian. He was smart that way. If only she at least brought the flint & steel… Pickaxe walked in; he looked a bit worn out. Jewel snapped out of her thoughts. "So how was it?" she asked curiously. Pickaxe looked up and gave a weak smile, shrugging. Jewel gave him a perplexed look. She jokingly added, "Well, I just don't expect to see a handsome face like yours look so tired…" Pickaxe nodded, then it was his turn to be perplexed. He didn't think he was handsome…

...wait, he didn't even know what he looked like!

Jewel saw his minor panic. It was kinda cute, that such a capable person didn't know what he looked like. It was weird, but cute nonetheless. "Come with me," she said, grabbing Pickaxe's hand and dragging him out of the house. They ended up by the ravine, where Jewel silently noticed some sugar cane and sand blocks had gone missing. Putting that aside, she told Pickaxe to look at his reflection in the water. At first, when he looked in the water, he just saw it's sweeping current. But as he focused on it a bit more, something came into view. His reflection got clearer and clearer, until finally, it emerged in all its entirety.

...oh, wow...just...wow…

His hair was dark black, with messy spikes edging out toward his left side. His eyes were an intense shade of red, and his face was slightly rounded, with a semi-pointed chin. He was wearing a crimson t-shirt, dirt brown pants, and dark purple sneakers. He stared at his reflection for who knows how long, before Jewel shook him out of it. "Don't tell me you're becoming a narcissist," she teased. Pickaxe turned a smidge red, before rapidly shaking his head no, much to Jewel's humor. Then the sky started to go dark. The two quickly began making their way back to the house.

* * *

Pickaxe was working on something very important for Jewel, and his house.

Jewel had gone out to do gathering this time, so Pickaxe could finally alter his house a bit. First he needed to do a bit of indoor renovation. He cut down the two beds, which he would use later. He moved his chest, crafting table, and furnace to the left side of his door. Now to get to the hard stuff. He was thinking about adding a new section of his house to the right side. He removed the dirt outline in that in that area, and created a rough 8x8 cobblestone baseline to the side.

Now came the harder parts.

He created a wooden wall three blocks high on top of the cobblestone base line. He went back inside his house to craft some stairs, effectively creating a staircase at the side of the room. Once he was at the top of said staircase, he built another floor on top of it, leaving him ready to construct another room. He made sure to torch the bottom floor before moving on. He created another wooden wall four blocks high, then added a roof. He made sure he had another gravel staircase to get back inside, and torched the roof before going down. After torching the top floor, he came back to the bottom to remove the wall separating the new area and his house. He broke the glass and took back the wood blocks, and started making the area a bit more accessible.

The result was a double doorway with a window on either side.

He took down the sign that said "Room" from "Bed Room," and rewrote so that it now said "Bed Rooms." By this time, the sand he had collected the previous day had finished smelting. Now he could add more windows, which he did all around the new area. He went back to gather more wood planks so he could make more signs and turn the next door dirt floor into a wooden floor. He spent the next several minutes doing so, labeling his room "Pickaxe" and Jewel's room "Jewel." Before he could add the finishing touches, he made sure to outline the new house area with dirt; it was a suspiciously pleasing design idea. He then proceeded to add crafting tables, furnaces, large chests, and beds to the two rooms.

Of course, he left that one "special gift" in Jewel's chest.

Jewel came back sometime after Pickaxe finished. Getting to his cave was easy enough, and it was so abundant with materials! Too bad she couldn't find any diamonds… this time. She suddenly realized that the house looked a bit… different. She looked at the sign in front of the new doors: "Bed Rooms." So Pickaxe did some remodeling...hmm… Pickaxe walked out of the doors, saying "I'm gonna go exploring a bit before it gets too dark. Your room's at the top." She was about to question him, but he was already gone. She shrugged, as she entered through the doors, and walked up the staircase.

She had her own room…

It wasn't that stunning at the moment. There was a bed, a furnace, a crafting table, a large chest. Not anything too outstanding. She sat on her bed, fatigue starting to settle in. She heard the sound of Pickaxe entering through the front door. He was a weird kid, but there was just something about him. Even though she only got there on a whim, and nearly tried to take his life, he still allowed her to stay. It was starting to get dark, she needed to go to sleep soon. She walked to the large chest to empty out her inventory for the following day. But then she realized there was something in there. She reached her hand into the chest, and managed to take out a rather shiny yellow fruit. A golden apple.

"Oh, Pickaxe…" Jewel said to herself.


	6. Overworlder Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Expansion**_

Pickaxe needed something to do.

Ever since he remodeled the house, nothing exciting ever really happened. All he and Jewel ever really did was mine, gather wood, and kill the nearby livestock. Pickaxe even managed to make a full set of leather armor! He would've made a second set of iron armor, but Jewel took some of the iron to make a set of tools. He could tell the two needed a change of pace. Jewel wasn't in the mood for mining today, but still needed some armor. Pickaxe wanted to see if he could do something with the iron ore that was left over.

Finally, Jewel couldn't take the silence.

"I'm going cow hunting," she stated flatly. "I'll be back before dark." She took one of Pickaxe's stone swords, and marched out of the house, determined to kill some cows for both leather and dinner. So now Pickaxe was alone. Great… What was he supposed to do now? He looked inside his large chest. There was some wood, several iron ingots, and some cobblestone, among other small things. He looked over the crafting table. He got an idea. He crafted a wooden shovel, something he hadn't done in a long time. He placed the shovel in the top center, surrounding it with wood blocks where he could. They turned into a boat.

He could use that later.

He took his iron ingots and crafted them into buckets. Now he could go on with the wood. He used them to craft another new set of materials: fences and fence gates. Nice. He walked out of the house to the back. He fenced off a majority of the area, making sure he added the gate for entry. Before he could continue, he needed to head to the ravine. While a majority of the water was rushing toward the falls that dove into the canyon, some areas of the water were still. Perfect! He scooped up the water using two buckets. He quickly ran back to the house. In the fenced area's lower right corner, he dug a 2x2x1 ditch. Then he surrounded the inner edge with cobblestone, and replaced the remaining floor with cobblestone. He took out his two water buckets. He poured one in one corner and another in the other.

Now to test his theory.

He took out three empty buckets. He took one scoop of water. It replaced itself. He took another scoop of water. It replaced itself. He took a third scoop of water. It replaced itself. ... … ...he had infinite water. Oh, heck yeah! Now he just needed to do something with the fenced area's upper territory. He looked at his boat. It was about time that he did some aquatic voyaging. But first he'd have to get to the ravine. And to do that, he'd have to get through the forest, which was infested with tall grass! Wait, tall grass? Hmmm…

Seeds had shown up in his inventory, the grass gone in his wake.

He had finally arrived at the ravine. Rather than head toward the canyon, which he knew quite well, he headed in the opposite direction, which he hadn't explored up to this point. He plucked his boat in the ravine's shallow end, hopped in, and began making his journey. The scenery was quite beautiful. Every now and then, among the grasslands, he could spot a mountain, a few caves, and unfortunately, creepers. He shivered. Luckily, the creepers were otherwise uninterested in him. Then he came across a rather strange block, just in front of a new area which was covered in sand and weird spiky green blocks.

He took out his axe, and slashed the block to its collectible form.

Apparently, these things were called pumpkins. To the side, there were two more. Perfect for him to harvest, though there was something weird about the faces carved into them. Regardless, they looked useful. He put one on his head for the fun of it. While his vision was a bit limited, he thought it looked cool… if he could've seen himself. It wasn't nightfall yet, but it was a very bad time for Pickaxe to remember that ONE essential task: torches. He quickly dashed back to the boat with his loot, and rowed like a rouge madman. He finally got back to his house's area, and plucked the boat out of the water.

Time to continue the setup.

He had an 11x4 grid to work with. He dug a one block deep ditch on the bottom left and right corners. He dug a vertical trench three blocks long. He put two rows of sand on the sides of the trench. Then he built two vertical trenches aligned with the top of the area on both sides. Now what could he do? He took out his stone hoe. He made sure he tilled a majority of the farmland. Now to add water and crops. He filled the trenches with water, having to make frequent stops to his "well" for water. He put the seeds from the grass on the sides of the farmland. He turned the two pumpkins into six pumpkin seeds, and put them on horizontal rows. Finally, he put the sugar cane he harvested days ago on the sand.

He added a chest and a crafting table for the finishing touch.

He was so tired, he ended up dragging himself to his room, waiting for Jewel. Occasionally, he'd go outside, watching his little garden from afar. He was quite proud of his work. But then nightfall came. Jewel hadn't come back yet. She never stayed out this late. Pickaxe grew anxious. Finally snapping under the pressure, he equipped his leather armor, stone & iron swords, bow, and arrows. He cautiously exited the safeness of his house, and began trekking in the darkness. The groans of zombies echoed throughout the dark void. Pickaxe had to kill a few spiders on the way there. Heck, he even snipped a zombie! But then he heard a scream…

Jewel was being held at arrow point by a skeleton, a shattered stone sword at her feet.

Pickaxe was too far. He'd never reach Jewel in time if he decided to run. There was no way he could run fast enough, even with all the adrenaline coursing through him. Then he remembered: he had a bow. He immediately strapped an arrow alongside the string. He had practiced shooting a few times, so he knew long range shots required… an angle. He arched the bow so that his aim was above the skeleton. He inhaled, concentrating his energy… and he sent the bow flying. It caught the skeleton straight in-between the eyes. Jewel looked stunned, as the skeleton directed its attention to finding it's attacker.

Pickaxe shot it two more times, collecting a bone and an arrow for the repercussions.

Jewel practically _pounced_ on Pickaxe, apologizing a great deal for making him worry. Pickaxe shrugged it off; Jewel was okay now, wasn't she? He pulled out an iron sword, motioning for them to get back to the house. Halfway there, a skeleton shot off Pickaxe's leather helmet, destroying it in the process. After an arrow shot and two sword slashes to the chest, the skeleton was defeated, but Pickaxe was subjected to wear his pumpkin as a substitute. Jewel chuckled to herself, as Pickaxe did an eye roll, though she didn't seem to notice. They had just arrived at the river bank close to the house, when they noticed a mysterious figure.

A tall, thin figure, with skin dark as night and eyes purple and bright.

Jewel was looking down, shivering. Pickaxe could only make out her mumbling as her saying, "Nonononono…" Why was that figure giving her the cree-? It suddenly appeared in front of him. Pickaxe was now shivering. The creature was carrying a grass block in his hands, eyeing Pickaxe curiously. He and Jewel simultaneously gulped. Were they gonna die? The creature cocked its head to the side. Pickaxe began to reach for his sword…

The creature lost interest. He teleported away to who knows where in the night.

Pickaxe and Jewel made a mad dash for the house. Both of them were breathing hard. That creature was the stuff of nightmares. Looking into it's eyes was like seeing the end of his life. He took off his pumpkin. End of his life… " _Enderman_ …" he muttered. Jewel nodded, replying, "Scary things. They're supposed to be rare, but they're frightening if you catch yourself in their crosshairs." Pickaxe nodded; he could see why. They looked dangerous. "That's not all," Jewel continued, "If you look at them, they go crazy. They won't hesitate to slaughter you. The only way to avoid that is if…" "...if you wear a pumpkin," Pickaxe finished. Jewel shook her head in agreement. "Good night, Jewel," uttered Pickaxe, slowly trudging to his room. Jewel followed his example, walking up the steps as sleepiness began to crawl upon Pickaxe.

The enderman was a creature he wouldn't soon forget...


	7. Overworlder Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: Hunt Or Be Hunted**_

Last night didn't just scare Pickaxe.

It gave him a sense of emptiness. All he and Jewel ever did nowadays was just mining. Sure, now they had a garden, but at the moment it was slow. The only time he ever felt elated to do anything was either when he was dedicating himself in a project, or when he was lost in the moment. Like when he was killing all those mobs last night. It felt… satisfying. It didn't feel GOOD good, there was still some guilt over the many murders he caused (whether or not that guilt should be present will forever remain a mystery). Regardless, it gave him a sense of exhilaration. A sense of a greater purpose. He had to do it again.

Jewel would be flabbergasted at his request.

"Umm… you sure?" she whispered nervously. Monsters always gave her the willies. She would fight them, but only for self-defense, not for the heck of it. Pickaxe understood… but he knew it was the only way to kill the monotony. He looked at Jewel with a pleading face. At first, Jewel was wearing her poker face. Unfortunately, at least in this round, Pickaxe had more stamina. Jewel sighed, "I hope Stan doesn't hear about this…" She looked up at Pickaxe. "What's the plan?"

As the sun began to set on the land, Pickaxe went through his mental checklist.

Create a minor beacon? Check. Jewel had talked about it for some time, so Pickaxe finally decided to build the dirt tower with a torch on top. Upgrade the arsenal? Check. Pickaxe was decked out in a full set of iron armor, except for the helmet (he had grown rather fond of his pumpkin). He made sure to bring two fresh sets of iron tools, in case he needed to do some impromptu gathering. Create an additional boat? Check. It was currently residing in Jewel's inventory. Extra supplies? Check. He made sure to bring some gravel to make a snipping tower, torches, and food, thus increasing their chances of staying alive. Leaving before nightfall?

Pickaxe and Jewel trampled out of the house, hurriedly pulling out their boats. Check.

After several moments of rowing, Jewel noted the desert that Pickaxe had nearly entered earlier, and they decided to dock there. They took their boats, and did a quick recap on their inventories. Pickaxe and Jewel spent the first few moments exploring the scenery. Pickaxe learned the hard way that the spiky green blocks, called _cactus_ , weren't any fun to be around. At least, not when left unharvested. He made sure to bring extra arrows and an additional bow; the skeletons and creepers were not on his "Get Too Close" list. Finally, the sun set. Pickaxe swiveled his head back and forth, looking for Jewel. She had conveniently located herself at the top of a sand dune. He wasted no time rushing up there.

Naturally, that was the perfect time for an arrow to land in front of him.

The battle was on. While Jewel was sniping enemies from afar, Pickaxe was going full force in close combat. Strangely enough, he had a pickaxe in his left hand, even though it wasn't as effective as a sword in combat. That didn't stop him from slaying half the monsters with it. Heck, even a creeper died by its hand! Occasionally, the duo would team up, as Jewel snipped and Pickaxe came in for the final blow. This came in handy with the skeletons. Then the two saw a sight they would never forget: a skeleton riding a spider. "A spider jockey!? No way!" Jewel gasped. Pickaxe was a bit off guard as well, but he had already encountered sand colored zombies (husk, as they were called) so he didn't think much else could surprise him.

A few arrows in the chest said otherwise.

Pickaxe was trying to kill the spider, while Jewel semi-successfully tried eliminating the skeleton. The thing was too fast! If that wasn't enough, the spider jockey then set its sights on Jewel. That did it. Pickaxe ran as fast as his legs could take him, leapt into the sky... and killed the spider jockey in one fell swoop. Jewel was in awe. How… did he do that? And with a pickaxe, no less! Then she darted her head down. _Gee_ , Pickaxe thought, _I wonder why…_ He turned to face the enderman. So long as he wore the pumpkin, there was a slim chance of death. Besides, it did look kind of cool. _Move along buddy_ , thought Pickaxe. The enderman, seeing as he was not threatened, wandered away with a sand block in his hands, then teleported away. Pickaxe and Jewel didn't notice a creeper sneaking up on them…

 _ ***SHKRAAAAAAAA!***_

Pickaxe and Jewel swiveled their heads at the sound. They only saw a dying creeper, and a shadow dash past them. It managed to get as far as the edge of the desert, before disappearing into the forest. Pickaxe and Jewel gave chase, taking the water route back to the house's vicinity. When they arrived, they could barely make out the figure in the darkness, approaching the house. It swiveled its head back in forth, making sure nothing was following it. "Hmph," it uttered distastefully,"Might as well raid the place. It could have something useful…" Pickaxe froze. The voice sounded deep, serious, and… feminine. Another girl? What business did she have raiding Pickaxe's house? The girl began to approach the entrance. The door was flung open, her hands fidgeting from the thought of potential riches.

Jewel shot one of her arrows; it flew over the girl's head.

Upon noticing she had been seen, the girl swiveled around. Pickaxe got a good look at her from their hiding spot. Her hair was a fiery shade of crimson, tied back into a ponytail. Her fair skin clashed against her brown and black clothes, which looked caked with dirt. Her eyes were green on the left, black on the right. _Kinda reminds me of Jewel_ , Pickaxe thought. Of course, Jewel wouldn't wield two iron axes, like the girl was. At least to his knowledge. "Come out where I can see you…" she warned. Pickaxe and Jewel remained hiding in the darkness. The girl grew impatient, taking out a bottle with a strange dark blue liquid. "A potion?" Jewel whispered. Pickaxe didn't like the look on Jewel's face when she said that.

The girl gulped down the potion. Her body was surrounded by a mysterious aura.

"FOUND YOU!" she snarled. She darted to Pickaxe's location. _She's bluffing, right?_ , thought Pickaxe, who clearly realized that was NOT the case when one of the girl's axes almost decapitated him. Jewel was trying to snipe the girl, but she kept dodging Jewel's arrows. The surrounding darkness didn't exactly help either. Eventually, Jewel ran out of arrows. Pickaxe was on his own for this one. He lunged towards the girl with his sword and pickaxe, but she instinctively blocked with her axes. The two continually exchanged slashes, trying to get the jump on the other. It was a stalemate.

But then Pickaxe's sword broke.

Pickaxe was exhausted. He had to double down just to avoid getting hit. It was too much. The girl kept swinging her axes like a maniac. She was eventually going to get a hit in at this point. He needed to think fast. Suddenly, the girl slashed her axe downward, which Pickaxe barely dodged. Without thinking, he went in for the girl's arm, swiveled around it, and flung her axe out of her hand. She looked shocked. Now was Pickaxe's chance! He lept into the air, preparing to slash his pickaxe down with full fury. The girl wasn't so keen on that idea, and rose her axe in defense.

Both weapons shattered upon contact, and the girl fainted on the spot.

Pickaxe and Jewel spent the next few moments catching their breath. The night was a quarter away from ending. Pickaxe looked in the distance. They hadn't caught the attention of any mobs… yet. He needed to get back to the house. He looked back to the girl. He didn't know what to do with her. She tried raiding the house. She tried to kill them! But then again…they did try to do the same to her. Besides, she took care of the creeper. Darn, if only he had a sign...

A sheep walked right next to Pickaxe.

…

He took out his sheers.

…

 _ **SNIP, SNIP!**_

Good enough for him!

He picked up the girl and carried her into the house. He handed her to Jewel as he crafted a bed for her. He set it right next to the bedrooms; he'd make a bedroom for her later. Jewel set her down on the bed, tucking her in before retiring for the night. Pickaxe decided to get some shuteye himself. He ate some apples he had leftover, and crawled into his bed.

So how was this gonna play out?


	8. Overworlder Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: Strike**_

Finally, he had finished one construction project.

Pickaxe had woken up that morning to see that Jewel and the girl had been talking next to the back window. The garden _was_ coming along nicely, only a day or so left to harvest. The two girls had waved "Hi," to him, before introducing the new girl. Her name was Madison. She was a monster hunter. "More like bounty hunter in my opinion," she stated, "But in most cases, that's my official title." She explained that people would come to her with a request to kill a monster or some other "dangerous" task. If she completed it, the asker would give her some valuable reward in return.

 _Sounds too easy when she puts it like that_ , Pickaxe thought.

"So, what do you do?" Madison asked. Pickaxe simply shrugged. "Nothing much, really. Just some farming, some building, some woodwork, a bit of mining… oh, jeez!" Pickaxe dove into his chest. He still had to do some renovations to the cave today! He rather hurriedly gathered his needed supplies: tools, gravel, dirt, cobblestone, and wood. Perfect! "I'll be back later!" he yelled to the girls, darting out of the house to the waterfall.

"Is he always like this?" asked Madison. "Meh," Jewel responded.

* * *

He had finished some time after that morning.

He had built a shell of sorts, surrounding the original entrance to the cave. It was in no way meant to be durable; it was comprised of leftover dirt and cobblestone! However, there was hole at the top. Using the multitudes of gravel he had collected, he made a one block pillar ALL the way back to the top. He carefully snuck over the edge, making a crude bridge to solid ground for the time being. He made sure to craft a lot of ladders, which would, in turn support him on the way up. He built walls around the ladder pillar, using more dirt and cobblestone. When he got to the top, he made a quaint wooden shack. He put a furnace, crafting table, large chest, and trap doors in the shack. He made sure to torch nearly everything throughout. Now nothing could get into the mines! For the most part. Now he needed to make a bedroom for Madison.

It was really quite easy.

He simply had to destroy the wall of Jewel's room facing the exterior of the house. He sneaked along the edge to create a 6x6 wooden floor, then he proceeded to create the surrounding walls and roof, making sure to torch the areas throughout. He also made sure to torch the area below her room. He added a bed, crafting table, large chest, and windows to the establishment. He then created a wall to make sure Jewel's and Madison's rooms were properly separated. For the final touches, he added a door, a more stable floor on top of the staircase, and a sign that said "Madison."

He hoped she would like it.

He walked to the bottom floor of the house, where Jewel and Madison were currently conversing in the work room. What they were talking about, Pickaxe didn't know. He did know one thing, however: "I'm going mining. Wanna join?" Jewel seemed eager to join, having been in the house since morning, but for some reason, Madison didn't look as joyful. "Don't have a pickaxe," she said flatly. Jewel blinked. Pickaxe rushed to the crafting table. The best he could come up with was a stone pickaxe (they needed more iron). He handed the pickaxe to Madison, who took it somewhat awkwardly. "He does this sometimes…" assured Jewel.

They left for the mine, and were quite pleased with Pickaxe's wooden shack.

Upon descending into the caves, the trio dispersed in all direction, carrying food, torches, and pickaxes, of course. The found stone, as per usual, as well as some iron, coal, gravel, flint, and gold! They kept mining into the caves, desperate to see if some treasure was waiting to be unveiled.

For Madison, it was lava.

She was mining out a gold ore deposit, when she came across a different cave system hidden behind some gravel. "Great," she muttered. She wasn't a fan of finding different cave systems; they were so random! However, they usually did mean monsters. Unfortunately, she only had one of her iron axes for defense, since Pickaxe broke the other one. That boy was a strange case. She made sure to torch the area, genuinely surprised monsters hadn't spawned here. At least, not yet. She was only a few blocks into the cave, when she came across a strange light. Was someone else using this cave system?

She nearly drowned in lava for not being more cautious.

She blinked. Yup, it was lava. She could feel the heat from there. But where there was lava… there could also be obsidion! Madison scavenged her inventory. Thank goodness she had some buckets! She just needed two though. That would be enough to create an infinite lava source! She went giddy at the thought of summoning a Nether portal, or dumping lava on the stupid zombies and creepers... _Snap out of it!_ , she scolded herself. She still had to get the lava. She scooped it up while humming a little tune, dreaming of the chaos she could create…

For Jewel, it was redstone.

She had just finish mining some gold, and was currently mining more stone (yay, stone!). But then she noticed a strange red dust particle. She looked down. No. It couldn't be! Redstone!? HERE!? She broke into a happy dance. She could find her way home now! And so much more… _Okay, backtrack a bit_ , she told herself. Now she had iron AND redstone, but only if she actually mined the stuff. 4 lumps of redstone. Perfect. But she couldn't use them yet. As much as she wanted to, there was Pickaxe and Madison to think about. They could handle themselves, sure… but the same usually didn't go for herself. Satisfied with her decision, she started making her way back to the entrance…

As for Pickaxe, he also found a treasure of high caliber.

It was just after he had narrowly avoided death by lava. He was actually trying to get back to the entrance, but a certain glint caught his eye. It sparkled like Jewel's right eye. What did she call them again? … _Diamonds._ Pickaxe had found diamonds. He wandered closer to the precious ore. He could feel its power tingling down his spine. It was all his for the taking. He mined the jewel out with his iron pickaxe. A single diamond fell into his hands. It was a beautiful treasure beyond all comprehension. The good news was, there was more. By the time he had run out of diamonds to mine, he had 10 of them in his inventory.

Jewel would be so jealous.

The trio met back up at the entrance, conveniently so, since nightfall was about. They scurried out of the wooden shack back to the house, slaying a zombie or two. They all caught their breath as they laid against the walls. They needed a better tracking system of time. Luckily, Jewel had an answer. After smelting some golden ore, and using some of her redstone, she crafted three clocks for each of them. Now they could see when night or day was approaching! Madison smirked at her clock before turning in. Pickaxe flipped it coin style before putting it aside. They all went to bed, feeling very proud of themselves.

Tomorrow, they would need to step it up.


	9. Overworlder Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9: Harvest _**

Finally, the garden was ready for a harvest.

There was wheat, pumpkins, and sugar cane to be harvested. Pickaxe was in the best of moods, obviously. The moment the sun had risen and he looked out the window, he knew today was going to be a good day. Of course, he had to remember to replant the harvest after gathering it. That way he could get more! He slumped out of his bed, ready to seize the day…

...only to be greeted by an angry Madison.

"Dumb lava. Stupid little miniscule… WhYcAn'TyOuBeInFiNiTe!?" was all she said before storming into her room. Pickaxe scratched his head. Then he looked to his garden. Parallel to his infinite water pool was a small empty ditch. He guessed that lava apparently _couldn't_ be infinite. Poor Madison. He grabbed some dirt blocks to fill the ditch. Now was the time to take care of the harvest! One by one, he plucked the wheat, pumpkins, and sugar cane, save for the ones at the base. Seeds occasionally popped out of the wheat, so Pickaxe naturally planted them in the wheat's now empty stead. The pumpkin stem was still there, so logically it would later on create more pumpkins. The sugar cane, as previously stated, would grow so long as its base remained on the sand.

As Pickaxe was putting the harvest in the large chest, he noticed Jewel's face against her window.

Her eyes were sparkling. She looked rather excited, more so than usual. Suddenly, she vanished from her window, and was running to the back, practically crashing into the chest. She grabbed a piece of wheat and some seeds, and ran off yelling, "MAKE A PEN BEFORE I GET BACK!" She had a goofy grin on her face the entire time, too. Pickaxe didn't know whether or not she should be worried. Probably best to make the pen. He ended up making a 10x9 rectangle. That would work.

When Jewel came back, she was followed by a chicken, a cow, and a sheep.

She immediately crammed them all inside the pen. "Um," Pickaxe began, "What exactly are you doing?" "Shhh," shushed Jewel. She was watching with the most intent focus on the chicken. "Wait for it…" she whispered. _Wait for what?_ , thought Pickaxe. The chicken made a clucking sound, and dropped this weird white thing. Then it did it again...and again...and again. Four weird white things. Jewel eagerly leapt into the pen, and grabbed the round things. Then she slowly approached the cow with a bucket in her hand. Pickaxe couldn't watch. When he turned his head back, Jewel had three buckets of white liquid. She left the sheep alone… for now.

"Well?" Jewel demanded, "Get to crafting!"

She shoved her newly acquired materials into Pickaxe's hands. Eggs and milk. That's what they were called. Why did he need these? Suddenly, an idea came into his head. He grabbed three wheat, three pumpkins, and five sugarcane. First, he turned all the sugar canes into sugar. Now what could he do? He had an idea. He placed the milk buckets on the crafting table's top row. He put one of the eggs in the center, and filled the bottom row with wheat. The remaining areas were filled with sugar. The crafting table shook.

Pickaxe had made a cake.

Jewel was jumping up and down like a schoolgirl on a snow day. Pickaxe decided he better finish before she lost it. He took a pumpkin and put it in the center left of the crafting grid. He put a piece of sugar next to it, and put an egg below it. He did this two more times. He ended up making three pumpkin pies. Jewel looked like she was about to blow up. She snatch two of the pumpkin pies out of his hand. "I'll give one to Madison. Poor thing needs cheering up," She gave Pickaxe a little smirk before entering the house.

She was definitely something else.

Pickaxe entered the house making a two-block table before placing the cake on top. It looked so tasty… no, he had to wait. But what would he do? He eyed the cake on the wooden table. Wait, wood... table… Oh shoot, his diamonds! He checked inside his chest. Yup, all 10 of them were still there. He crafted himself some sticks, and began to get to work. First, he'd make a diamond pickaxe. Then, a diamond sword. Finally, a diamond helmet. He tried on his new gear. He felt… amazing. The diamond was a strange element. It was surprisingly light, but sharp and crisp. The power of his arsenal radiated off of him. He felt tingly all over. It was a rush. Suddenly, Jewel and Madison walked into the room.

The look on Jewel's face was simply **_PRICELESS_**.

After running away from an angry Jewel wielding an axe around the house, they group sat down and had some cake. It tasted so sweet and savory, and it was surprising how hungry they all were. Up until this point, they had all been subsisting on meat and apples. They couldn't have imagined that such delicacies existed. "Back in the village, we do some farming," Jewel explained. "I LOVED the desserts that they made. Got a few scoldings when I took them without permission, though." Jewel blushed in embarrassment at this, while Madison exploded in hearty laughter. Pickaxe just grinned. Jewel was a good person to have around. She was always so nice and caring, though she did have the usual miner tendencies, like needing to do something.

Which was what Pickaxe was thinking about right now.

"Do you know where your village is?" Pickaxe asked. Jewel stared at him. She slowly shook her head. "N-not really," she admitted. "I was in the Nether when I came here. I wouldn't even know where to start looking…" Madison looked worried for Jewel. Pickaxe was curious. Couldn't they find a way back? "Wait, you said something about redstone. Could that help?" asked Pickaxe. Suddenly, Jewel's face lit up with realization. Of course! She darted to the crafting table. She placed her final lump of redstone in the center, and put iron ingots everywhere else except the corners. The ingredients began to shake…

...and transformed into a compass.

"My brother told me that compasses always pointed you back home," said Jewel, "No wonder he always kept one him!" "Now what?" asked Madison. Pickaxe stood up, holding his diamond pickaxe and sword. "Now we get ready," he declared. He ran to his room, gathering more necessary supplies. Then he darted out of the house. The girls were chasing after him, but he wouldn't stop. He could get to the mines before nightfall, and he made sure to bring his clock. All that mattered now was getting materials.

They were going to bring Jewel home.


	10. Overworlder Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Troll**_

They were at it for days.

Pickaxe mined like a maniac. Jewel was harvesting from the farm and the animals. Madison was slaying monsters every nightfall. They had amassed an impressive inventory, plenty to survive several weeks of voyaging. It was after Pickaxe had checked his clock that he realized how long the day had been. For what seemed like hours, he had dug deep into his cave, mining the resources, replacing his tools. He had broken into several other cave systems, and came close to death too many times to count.

It was all worth it though, because he had a surprise for the group.

The sun began to rise as Pickaxe exited the wooden shack leading to his cave. He felt sore, so it would be nice to relax a day before the journey. Besides, he had a lot of crafting to do. He had just gotten back into the house. Jewel was still hard at work in the back. She was using this wonky jagged white stuff to make the plants grow faster… _bone meal_. Of course. Madison was on her way back to the house as well. It looked like she had just finished doing some lumberjacking. Perfect. He needed the wood. "Heyo," she greeted, leaning against the doorway. "How was mining?"

 _I have a new respect on the subject_ , thought Pickaxe.

"Got any wood?" he asked instead. Madison nodded, and tossed him some wood blocks. Unknown to the two girls, Pickaxe had managed to mine 128 diamonds while on his mining spree. That was more than enough to create some armor and tools. Of course, he also had to craft some bows, arrows, other tools, and foodstuffs. There was so much to do! Hopefully he could finish it all in time. It seemed so important to Jewel… he thought of her as a sister. He wanted to take care of her, protect her. But he could only do that if he actually started crafting.

Unbeknownst to him during his oblivious crafting spree, Jewel came into the house, placed some crafting ingredients in the chest beside the crafting table, and gave Pickaxe a hug before retiring to her room.

* * *

They knew something was wrong the moment they stepped outside.

Originally, they had been planning to leave after they had gone through the materials. Pickaxe had given everyone a set of iron armor and tools, diamond armor and tools, a bow and arrows, flint and steel, shears, 64 dirt blocks, a bed, and foodstuffs. On top of that, he made sure to give Madison a second axe (both an iron and diamond one) as compensation for the whole "axe breaking" incident. They had just opened the door, when Pickaxe suddenly realized something was… off. Well, it was in front of his face… and the entire house.

The entire house had somehow been buried in sand.

"What the heck!?" Madison yelled. _True that_ , thought Pickaxe. With some difficulty (and annoyance) they dug the house back into the daylight. Then they heard something. Well, _someone_. And they were, no, HE was… laughing. "OH, OH MY- I CAN'T EVEN-...GOOD GRACIOU-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The group swiveled their heads. Several blocks away from the house was another miner. He had a black shirt with green stripes and ripped sleeves. He wore torn jeans and sand-colored sneakers. His eyes, when they were open, were a startling shade of neon yellow. His hair was dirty blonde, and it looked like he had a SERIOUS case of bed head.

"Great. A griefer," Jewel muttered. Pickaxe didn't like the sound of that.

"OK, ok," he gasped between laughs, retaining his "composure." "Give me all your materials, and you can live! Don't, and you'll die!" he barked, a very malicious grin on his face. "Um, how about no," retorted Madison. "Suit yourself!" the griefer replied, pulling out a bucket… filled with lava. "Oh, heck no!" yelled Pickaxe. He pulled out his bow and arrow, and shot at the griefer, causing him to spill his lava on himself, but not injure the group. "OWOWOWOW OH WHY IT BURNS!" he yelled, before using his bucket to reclaim the substance.

"Now you're gonna get!" he bellowed, before pulling out a bow and a… glowing arrow?

"GET DOWN!" cried Jewel, tackling Pickaxe to the side. The purple-glowing arrow struck the side of the house, setting the wood block on fire. "It's enchanted!?" gasped Madison, "You've gotta be kidding me!" "Nope!" yelled the griefer, who turned his back on them. "Smell ya later, NOOBS!" he declared, and with that, he took off like a coward. Meanwhile, the house was burning in flames. "No…" Pickaxe was at a loss for words. It had taken him so long to build this house, this _home_. And it was burning in front of his very eyes. Jewel snapped him out of it. "Go after him!" she commanded. "I'll take care of the house!" Madison grabbed his hand and ran after the griefer, while Jewel was running to the back to get water.

...he needed to make that guy **PAY**.

They found him in the forest, still running. "Get back here, scumbag!" barked Madison, obviously a bit ticked off at the griefer. "Nah, I'll just wait 'til you die, than steal all your materials. Watch your step!" "Wha-?" was all Pickaxe could say before he immediately stopped himself. Madison wasn't so lucky. She stepped on a wooden pressure plate, and the two suddenly heard an ominous hiss. "RUN!" cried Madison. The two began running, but it wasn't long before they began to hear the explosions. The TNT took a heavy toll on their health.

As expected, the griefer was laughing at their "stupidity."

"Hahaha! You're such idiots! You might as well be saying 'Here are my materials, good sir!' Pathetic!" The griefer said all this while making a weird contraption. Pickaxe didn't know what he was building. It used a lot of weird stone-like blocks... _dispensers_. Then he filled them with what looked like black stones with fire encrusted in them... _fire charges_. Now he and Madison had to run. He grabbed her hand and started sprinting past the machine. "Oh no you don't!" he giggled, as he threw a bottle of a dark pale blue liquid at the two.

Pickaxe shoved Madison out of the way, just as the bottle made contact.

For some reason, Pickaxe's own body was holding him back. The world was moving faster than he was, an alarmingly uncomfortable phenomenon. The griefer walked up to him with an iron sword. He started slashing at Pickaxe. One hit. Two. Three. There wasn't a single bit of regret on this griefer's face. He was going to kill him in cold blood. "Nighty night, miner," he said, raising his sword for the final strike.

Madison slammed her axe into the griefer, sending him right in front of his contraption.

"Now who's stupid?" Madison growled, flipping the switch on the griefer's contraption. The fire charges came full force, burning the griefer and forcing him to take cover. "I'll be back! You all will regret this!" He yelled behind a tree, before once again retreating from the battle. Madison wanted to chase after the dirty rotten trash, but there was Pickaxe. He was still suffering from the effects of the Potion of Slowness. They were never gonna catch the griefer at the rate Pickaxe was moving. She tossed him a bucket of milk. Pickaxe gave her a questionable glance, but Madison simply urged him to drink it. He drank, and suddenly, he could move normally again. "Milk removes status effects," Madison stated, gesturing for Pickaxe to follow.

The griefer was not getting away that easily.

They found him on the edge of the canyon next to the waterfall, but he was being occupied by something. A creeper, to be precise. "Outta my way, bub! I got places to be!" the griefer yelled. "Is he that stupid!?" Madison gawked in disbelief. As if on cue, the creeper began to hiss. "W-wait, hold up!" said the griefer, obviously panicking, "C-can't we talk this o-out!?" "Good riddance," grumbled Madison. But Pickaxe thought different. As much as he hated this guy, something about him dying wasn't too… appealing to think about. He had no idea why he did what he did next. He suddenly dashed beside the griefer, punching him out of the creeper's blast radius, and jumping into the canyon to escape it himself.

The last thing he saw was the creeper's explosion, just as he plummeted into the canyon river.

* * *

Jewel was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.

She sighed from relief upon seeing that Pickaxe was alive. The second thing he noticed was that the house was no longer up in flames. You couldn't tell that it once was. The third thing he noticed… was the griefer, with Madison staring daggers at him. So he came to the house after Pickaxe's near death experience. Pickaxe honestly didn't know what to think. "What's your name?" he asked. The griefer looked offended. "You wake up almost dying because of me, and that's what you ask?" Pickaxe looked unfazed.

The griefer sighed. "The name's Texik."

"Figures," Madison muttered under her breath. "Why is he here again?" she asked, obviously annoyed by his presence. Jewel sighed, "I already told you, we called truce. Besides, he IS in Pickaxe's debt for saving him from the creeper…" "One of the worst ways to kick the bucket," Texik added. "Plus, he agreed to help on the voyage!" Jewel said optimistically. Madison scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. Just keep him out of my way, and maybe he'll actually live a few more years." Texik winced. What happened to the arrogant griefer that tried to murder them a few moments ago?

 _Guess he was just ignorant then_ , thought Pickaxe.

Pickaxe walked up to Texik. He extended his hand to the reformed griefer, who accepted it somewhat hesitantly. "Okay, Texik," Pickaxe began, "I'm willing to give you a second chance. But let me tell you right now…" His red eyes suddenly glared with intimidation. Texik hoped he wasn't shaking as much as he thought he was. "You can mess with me all you want, but if you hurt or betray my friends, I will find you and kill you without any remorse." The air was tense. Texik forgot how to breathe. Pickaxe placed a bed down. "Now get some rest, before you worry yourself to death." He walked into the room, Jewel and Madison following.

 _Well, at least I'll be kept in check..._ , thought Texik, as he crawled into bed, and slept peacefully for the first time in years.


	11. Overworlder Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Into The Jungle Biome**_

The voyage began after they left the house.

Jewel lead the group with her compass in her offhand. They planned on heading in the direction the compass pointed straight, since that was the quickest route. Naturally, that direction pointed to the other side of the canyon. Madison wanted to just jump to the bottom and struggle to get to the top. Of course Texik had a "better idea,": using blocks to build a bridge via sneaking. That would waste time! Of course Pickaxe and Jewel agreed with him. Cheap little upstart…

Texik simply stated he was lucky enough to steal such items.

The voyage continued on the plains on the other side of the canyon. Several animals were roaming about aimlessly. Jewel then spotted a rarity of a creature: a horse. "Awwwwwww," she cooed. "If only I had a saddle…" Reluctantly, she continued on with the journey. Pickaxe felt sorry for her. _Remind me to get her a horse_ , he thought. Meanwhile, Texik was more concerned with the accomodations his acquaintances (calling them "friends" was too soon) had planned for the evening.

It's not like he exactly trusted a bed, a torch, and 64 dirt blocks.

Several minutes passed. The plains kept going on and on. They weren't making much progress at this rate. "...uuuuuuuuuuUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!" shouted Madison, her sanity having crumbled under the boredom. Jewel tapped her shoulder. "WhAt!?" she barked. A slightly terrified Jewel slowly pointed to a river. It was flowing in the direction the compass was pointing to. "HALLELUJAH!" yelled Texik, wasting no time pulling out a boat and hopping in. The others followed, with Jewel eventually taking the lead. As they traveled along the river, the terrain slowly began to change. Trees began dotting the plains. The grass became more vibrant. The area as a whole felt more alive. Then they saw the impressive landscape in front of them.

It took all of their willpower not to drop their jaws.

The trees were of a wood none had seen before, and they were HUGE. A new different animal was flying amongst the trees… _parrots_. They also saw plenty of _ocelots_ roaming about. Jewel was absolutely gushing! Even Madison was mildly intrigued. "The only animal able to scare a creeper," she noted. The group looked over the horizon. The sun was several moments from setting. Texik began to panic. "We're out in the open! The creepers our gonna get us! We'Re DoOmE-" It was at this moment Madison smacked Texik out of his insanity.

Pickaxe then took the time to demonstrate how to construct the pillar shelters.

"IS THIS GOOD?" yelled Texik from his pillar. Pickaxe nodded. All of the pillars were 60 blocks high with a torch at the top and a bed to the side. Now the mobs couldn't get to them AND they wouldn't spawn up here! Madison let out a yawn. "Welp, I'm going to bed. See ya tomorrow," she mumbled, flopping onto her bed without a care. Jewel followed her lead in a more dignified manner. Texik crawled under the covers as fast as possible.

Eventually, even Pickaxe followed their lead.

* * *

They made a beeline for the jungle after taking down their pillars.

It was beautiful, albeit a bit shady, as the group marveled at the scenery, the trees, the fauna. Pickaxe wondered how Jewel could be so interested in the ocelots. "They're adorable!" she protested. Texik was more interested in the parrots. "They can hear mobs from 20 blocks away!" he declared. _Hmmm_ , thought Pickaxe, _did the creeper scare him that bad?_ "Come on, come on!" Texik muttered. "Where are those seeds I took?" "How much stuff have you stolen?" Madison asked disgusted. Texik gave a cryptic smile, "A lot."

Pickaxe decided now was a good time to look at the trees.

They were tall and strong. They were made out of a wood none of them had seen before. On the side, big orange-brown plant pods were growing… _cocoa_. "Ooooh, I've heard of these!" Jewel exclaimed, appearing out of nowhere. Pickaxe was startled, but rather than flinch, he calmly asked, "What are they for?" "Cocoa can be harvested into cocoa _beans_ , a type of dye, AND an ingredient used to make cookies!" "Did someone say cookies?" The voice belonged to Madison, who popped her head from behind trees. She was followed by Texik, who had somehow acquired a grey parrot resting on his shoulder.

"If I find a nametag, I'm gonna name him _Siren_!" he proclaimed.

Madison rolled her eyes. Pickaxe stared up at the tree. "I'm gonna chop down this tree," he began, "Could you guys get the cocoa beans?" "Sure!" agreed Jewel. "Whatever," said Madison. "Who's a good parrot?" ignored Texik. After several moments, Pickaxe only managed to cut down half the tree. It didn't look right to see the top half floating in space. "Oh, well," said Texik, "Just keep your cookies away from my parrot!" "The good news is we just need the raw wood to plant cocoa pods," assured Jewel. That made Pickaxe feel better. So he hadn't worked in vain. Meanwhile, the group looked up at the sky. Too little too late, they realized it was already dark. Texik's parrot made a sound like a high pitched zombie.

Pickaxe took his iron sword out. "Run," he commanded.

They got split up during their escape. On all sides monsters were trying to kill them. Pickaxe was lucky enough to manage putting on his pumpkin. The group blindly slashed on all sides. Several zombies, a spider or two, maybe even an off-guard skeleton, were victims of their blades. They managed to meet on the other side of the jungle, but did not stop running. They continued to move forward, slashing any monster in their wake. Eventually, they grew tired. While Texik and Madison held off nearby monsters, Jewel and Pickaxe constructed a crude shelter out of dirt. They rushed everyone inside, before Pickaxe sealed off the entrance. They tried sleeping, but there were too many monsters nearby. So, they bided their time, praying for the daylight to come once again.

When day finally came, there was one more place the group needed to search.

During their mad dash for survival, Madison remembered coming across a structure made of moss stone. Retracing her steps, they slowly came across a rather well organized-looking structure. "A jungle temple…" whispered Texik in awe. His parrot was just at the entrance. "Stay," he told it, and the group ventured inside. After going through the entryway, the place felt very… ancient. And dark. As Jewel began laying down some torches, the group was greeted with a puzzle.

Three levers dared the group to pull them.

Pickaxe pulled the left lever. Nothing happened. Texik pulled the right lever. Nothing happened. Madison pulled the middle lever. They heard a _**KA-CHUNK**_ to the side. Madison had discovered chest. "Score!" she yelled triumphantly. She quickly took the contents of the chest. "Hmmm… bones, rotten flesh (ew), gold, and… oooooooh, emeralds…" She held the shiny green rocks for all to see. "That could come in handy…" Jewel said, obviously enamored with the green jewel. Having collected their bounty, they moved on to the next floor.

This time, the chest sat there, waiting to be taken.

"MINE!" yelled Texik, who dashed for the chest… only to trigger a trip wire and be shot by several arrows. He slowly limped away, having Madison pluck the arrows out of him (much to her enjoyment and his dismay). Pickaxe looked at the walls. They were lined with dispensers hidden behind the vines. No wonder. He jumped over the trip wire. The dispensers held their fire. He slowly made his way to the chest. There was another wire in front of it. He carefully, opened the chest without crossing the wire, while Jewel gathered arrows from the dispensers.

He was lucky with his load.

He had found a few diamonds, a saddle, some iron ingots, and a strange glowing book.

He'd check out the book later, but for now, he gave Jewel the saddle. Her face was a beacon in the darkest light. Madison grumbled in jealousy. Texik was already making his way to the third floor. The others shortly followed, only to be welcomed by darkness on all ends. Jewel pulled out a torch to place on the ground. For a second, Pickaxe thought he heard someone groaning. Then the room was filled with light.

There was a zombie, and a creeper, who began to hiss…

The group was racing to get out of the temple. Even after the **BOOM** had passed and they heard the sound of a dead (again?) zombie, they continued to run. Texik was screaming at the top of his lungs: "NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HECK TO THE NO! THEY'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Madison shook her head in dismay. Jewel simply shrugged. Texik called for his parrot, and the group continued running. The jungle looked a lot less dense as they continued onward.

Eventually, they did leave the jungle behind. But the journey was yet to be over.


	12. Overworlder Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Cold Feet**_

It was getting too cold for comfort.

The group was trekking alongside a mountain, with Jewel still following the compass. It was so cold, they resorted to wearing leather armor to keep the heat. Iron and diamond got cold too easily. "Why isn't there snow?" asked Texik, his teeth chattering from the temperature. "Probably not cold enough," said Madison, too preoccupied with her own discomfort to snap at him. Eventually, the sky began to dim. "Oh no, it's gonna rain…" complained Madison. And it did. But the group continued walking through the rain, sloshing through the cold wet landscape.

That changed after they reached the proper elevation.

Jewel was the first to notice the rain wasn't hitting as hard. She looked up from her compass; white snowflakes were falling from the sky. Pickaxe's leather boots made a _crunch_ in the snow. Everyone stopped moving. They looked around, surprised to find that they were surrounded by snow. Texik made a small gasp when he noticed what was in front of them. The plains ahead were entirely covered with snow.

They leapt toward the area with open arms.

The entire group was scattered about the landscape, jumping around like there was no tomorrow. They began breaking some of the snow layers for fun, only to discover that they dropped something… _snowballs_. They all had a gleam in their eyes. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!" yelled Madison, hurling one of the snowballs at Texik. It was on. Pickaxe was a pretty good shot from any distance. Jewel only managed to get a hit on him once. Poor Texik would've been buried in a mound of snow if snowballs could stack. The fight lasted into the night.

The tipped arrow made them realize their mistake.

Picaxe looked toward the horizon. There was a skeleton, only...it wasn't exactly a skeleton. It was covered in green rags. It's eyes were pure white. The arrows it shot were coated with dark pale blue liquid. "Tipped arrows of slowness…" Texik muttered, his face pale. The potion brought bad memories… And this skeleton had arrows tipped with them. Wait, skeleton wasn't the right word. " _Strays_ ," muttered Madison. "A rare breed of skeleton found in the icy biomes. They're arguably more dangerous than the originals-" Another tipped arrow a bit too close to the face ended her brief lecture. "Never mind that, shoot!" yelled Texik, randomly pulling out a bow.

Eventually, they took down the stray… only to be pursued by a mob of them.

Madison was on the receiving end on some of the slowness arrows. "You've GOT to be kidding me!" she growled. Pickaxe was still trying to figure out how to get away from the strays. It looked like Texik was already coming up with an idea. "I got it!" he declared, "We just need an escape route." _Oh, goody_ , thought Pickaxe. Where were they gonna find an escape rou- "The frozen river!" Jewel cried. Pickaxe looked in her direction. Surely enough, there was a frozen river in the distance. "Great!" yelled Texik. "Pickaxe, take this!" He threw a glowing arrow at Pickaxe, who caught in in midair. "Shoot it on my signal!" said Texik, who immediately stopped in his tracks…

...and started building a wall of TNT.

Jewel looked concerned. "Did the frostbite reach his brain!?" she gasped. They continued running, when Pickaxe heard the words "NOW! NOW! NOW!" and the sound of something being thrown. He turned around and fired the enchanted arrow, as the strays were somehow occupied with trying to get past it. It made contact with the TNT, lighting it up as Pickaxe heard a sound similar to an enderman's teleportation. He was tempted to fling his bow in its direction, but stopped when he realized it was, somehow, Texik. He was holding a black pearl in his hand. " _Ender pearls_ ," Texik called them. "They allow teleportation upon impact!"

Pickaxe heard this, as well as the near deafening echo of the TNT.

As sunlight was rising, the group was traveling on the frozen river.

It was surprisingly fast, and in a good way too. _If only this lead all the way back to Jewel's village_ , Pickaxe thought. It was so convenient! Of course, the river had to end somewhere. Luckily, it ended somewhere worthwhile. "An ice spikes biome!?" Jewel gasped. Indeed, the group had ended up in an area of the ice biome where tall spikes of ice, _packed ice_ , stood atop proudly throughout the landscape. "Dibs on taking them as souvenirs!" shouted Texik, rushing toward one of the spikes with a glowing pickaxe in hand. He mined the entire spike before the tool broke. "Worth it!" he declared, Madison once again showing disfavor on her face.

"You could mine a lot of other things with that _Silk Touch_ , and you choose ice…" he thought he heard her say.

As they continued exploring, they came across a small group of polar bears. "Awwww…" Jewel cooed. "Can we keep one?" Texik pleaded. "Dude, you have a parrot," Madison reminded Texik, "Besides, the parents are _very_ protective…" "Man…" groaned Texik. Jewel made the mistake of getting to close to one of the cubs. The grown polar bear turned to face her. She went pale. It began to approach, reared on its hind legs… and swatted away Jewel, causing her to tumble into the snow. As Pickaxe rushed to her side, Texik cried, "RUN!" "Ugh, typical…" muttered Madison, reluctantly retreating.

Eventually, they lost the polar bear, but they might have veered off from the compass' path.

They resumed their trek in the proper direction, just as the snow began resuming its fall. It started to get dark, the group couldn't build a shelter fast enough. Madison spotted something in the distance. "Doesn't look like a hill!" she yelled in the flurry. The group slowly made their way to the establishment, which turned out to be an _igloo_. The inside was rather homey, with a bed, furnace, and crafting table. "Nice," Jewel said in awe. Texik blocked off the exit, and Pickaxe began placing more beds.

"Lights out," Pickaxe said.

Madison was the first one awake that day. All throughout the night, there had been an annoying villager sound and zombie groans on an endless loop. She had grown tired of it. But for some reason, it sounded like it was coming from… under the carpet? Pickaxe woke up next, having heard the annoying sounds himself. He pulled out an iron pickaxe, ready to shred through the carpet. "Careful," warned Madison. "I hear some igloo blocks are monster eggs that spawn silverfish!" Pickaxe would've thought it was a joke, if Madison's tone wasn't dead serious. He began mining the carpet, which opened up a secret entrance underground. Madison and Pickaxe were intrigued.

They woke the other two miners up, and began descending to the basement.

The basement was a little creepy. There was a chest, a _cauldron_ , some weird setup in the corner of the room… _a brewing stand_ , and two cages on the side of the wall. In those cages were two creatures. One had an uncharacteristically large nose, was bald, and wore a purple robe. _A villager priest_. The figure in the next cage looked similar, except his robe looked tattered, his skin was zombie colored, and he looked FAR more hostile. _Zombie villager priest_. "Umm… can we leave?" asked an uncomfortable Texik. "For once, I agree with you," said Madison. Did the zombie villager scare them that bad? Well, it was a bit freaky. But there had to be a way to save it, right? It was still a villager. Not a regular zombie.

Jewel was already into the chest, looking for something that might help.

"Stone axe? No. Emerald? Save that for later. Apples? Not hungry. Oh!" Jewel gasped. She held up a golden apple in her hand. "Great, what can we do with that?" asked a skeptical Texik. Out of the corner of his eye, Pickaxe noticed that something was in the brewing stand. He walked toward it slowly; it was close to the zombie villager. "Oh crud…" Pickaxe muttered. In the brewing stand was old nemesis… a splash potion of slowness. "Gimme!" said Jewel, who snatched the potion out from the stand. She went in front of the zombie villager. "Hope this works…" she whispered. She threw the splash potion into the cell, slowing down the zombie villager. Then she threw the golden apple at him.

He began to shudder, as a terrible hissing sound surrounded him.

"Oh jeez, IT BURNS!" yelled Madison, clutching her ears. Texik was too busy flopping like a maniac to say anything. Eventually, the hissing passed. The group looked in the zombie villager's cage. But the villager was no longer a zombie. It wasn't even a priest anymore. It was now clothed in a brown robe with a black apron. "An armorer?" Madison asked, shocked. "When curing a zombie villager, it's very unlikely they'll have the same profession as they did when they were zombies," Jewel explained. "I wonder if he's up for trade…" wondered Texik. Pickaxe was interested. Trade? He looked at the villager. He didn't know how, but it was offering him something.

 _Eight Iron Ingots for One Emerald._ _Take It Or Leave It._

"Hmmm…" Pickaxe thought of the deal. He did have plenty of iron ingots on him. _Take it or leave it_. "...take it," Pickaxe said. He gave the villager his eight iron ingots. In return, the villager tossed him an emerald. He made a villager noise that sounded much happier than usual. "Pleasure doing business," replied Pickaxe. The group looked at Pickaxe. "Did he just…?" questioned Texik. "How did he...-?" uttered a flabbergasted Jewel. Pickaxe shrugged, "Just sounded like a good deal…" Then he turned to the priest.

He also had something to offer.

 _One Bottle O' Enchanting for Three Emeralds. Best Deal, Take It Or Leave It._ "Do you guys have any extra emeralds?" asked Pickaxe. Jewel tossed her the one she found in the chest. Madison gave him one she had at the jungle temple. "Here you go," said Pickaxe, making the trade. The villager gave him a bright glowing bottle, which he happily took. "Can we go NOW?" asked Texik, clearly getting jumpy. "Alright, alright," assured Pickaxe, climbing up the ladder. Before Jewel left the basement, she looked back at the two villagers. "Take care," Jewel requested, leaving the basement. The villagers gave their assuring villager noises, as the duo left the igloo with loot in tow.

Once again, the group resumed their journey...


	13. Overworlder Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: Infestation**_

The mountain ranges were less than helpful.

Continuing their journey, the group had stumbled upon an extreme hills biome. From their perspective, the name fit quite well. The mountains were dangerously huge; if someone fell off, they could possibly die. Not a very good scenario. Madison was on edge the entire time. "Stupid silverfish show up in this biome. You can never tell if you're mining stone or a monster egg. Ugggh…" She looked like she was going to be sick. Naturally, Texik and his parrot were on the opposite side of the spectrum. "Emeralds...gold...diamonds...many treasures lurk beneath. I WANT THEM ALL." His eyes looked glazed over with greed. "Uh, no…" retorted Pickaxe, "shutting down" any plans he had for this biome. "We're gonna build a shelter, then we're gonna find the quickest way out of here."

"That's what you think," Texik whispered under his breath.

When the time came, the group found themselves atop one of the mountains. Jewel was laying down additional basis with dirt blocks, while Pickaxe began building the exterior of the shelter. Madison was working on the interior. Texik occasionally provided materials for the group. He needed to find a way to get those sweet riches! The fate of his pockets depended on it! But how? Hmmm… During his brainstorm, an idea manifested in his head. He rubbed his hands together evilly, formulating a plan no one would suspect.

Under the cover of darkness, when everyone was asleep, Texik made a new addition to the house.

The next morning, Pickaxe made an observation deck on the roof. He and Jewel were observing the area, trying to figure out how to get past the biome. The direction they were heading according to the compass was too dangerous, with too many potential death experiences. The safest route was in the OPPOSITE direction; they couldn't afford to lose that much time. Going around the biome was too time consuming a task as well. What would the best route be?

Pickaxe then remembered what Texik had done when they crossed the canyon.

After heading back into the shelter, the two stated that they were going to dig up dirt from the mountains to Madison. "Why not stone bl- oh, right. Silverfish," Madison recalled. "Yup," confirmed Jewel, also adding, "What's Texik doing?" "He claims to be working on organizing his room. Who knows?" Madison bluntly stated. "So long as he's not mining, I'm at ease," Pickaxe remarked. While he and Jewel went out to get the dirt from nearby mountains, Madison left to kill any "daywalker" monsters.

This was, of course, the perfect opportunity for Texik to sneak out of the house unnoticed.

His secret addition to the house was a trapdoor and ladder setup, hidden away from the rest of the group by a secret wall only he knew about. He carefully made his way down the ladder, a pickaxe and TNT in his hands. He scurried down the mountains, until finally reaching a new one a good distance away. He placed the TNT all along the outside of the mountain. It was perfect. He placed a TNT block at the top, and pulled out his trusty flint and steel. This was going to be glorious!

He lit the top of mountain, and ran for cover.

Pickaxe and Jewel could've sworn they heard the sound of a gigantic explosion. "Maybe Madison ran into a ton of creepers?" Jewel guessed. Pickaxe shrugged, "She's strong enough to survive it." Jewel nodded her head, and the two continued digging. They were almost at the base of the first mountain, with the entire structure's stone layer uncovered for all to see. A few more mountain layers should be enough to create the crazy bridge they planned to make to get over the biome. The group had collected plenty of sand and gravel pieces, so getting down wouldn't be too much of a hassle. The process would be a breeze.

Meanwhile, at the now decimated mountain, Texik was marveling at the destruction he had created.

The entire mountain had been reduced to stone-exposed flatland. Silverfish? Hah! The little pests were nowhere in sight! Madison was off her rocker; this plan was brilliant. All he had to do now was dig until he found those precious ores. Maybe even enough to convert them into blocks! He drooled over the possibility… _***Squak!***_ His parrot snapped him back to reality. He had to mine first.

Unfortunately, he neglected to notice the fact that blurs in the distance scurried off into the mountainside…

Madison had returned home with some swanky new mismatched armor. "Plenty of daywalkers wear this stuff to prevent burning in the sunlight, but it can't protect them from me!" she boasted. Clearly she had a good night. "So where's… Texik…" she reluctantly asked, the thought of him rather unpleasant. "He should still be in his room…" Pickaxe suggested. At the door, said reformed griefer and his yet to be named parrot waltzed into the house. "Well, now we know!" Jewel exclaimed. But Pickaxe and Madison were on edge.

Texik was holding a pickaxe and TNT in his hands.

The next morning, despite his worries, Pickaxe decided to accompany Jewel with making the dirt bridge. However, he did tell Madison to keep an eye on Texik. After the duo left, Madison went to check on the little rodent. "Hey, Texik! You in there?" she yelled, banging on his door. No response. "Texik!?" she continued, pounding her fist against the wood. Eventually, after the silence, she simply opened the door, and found Texik… missing. She then heard the faint sound of a door closing behind a wall.

"What is he up to?" she wondered.

She walked down to the bottom floor. The sound had come from there, but there was no indication that he left from the front door. She turned to one of the walls in the house. Hmmm… Could it really be that simple? She broke one of the wall's blocks. A torched chamber was within. _That conniving little snake…_ , thought Madison. Oooh, she was going to strangle him when she got the chance!

After going through the trapdoor and climbing down the ladders, she simply followed the sound of exploding TNT.

There he was. Half the time he was mining, the other half he was blowing up blocks to make it easier. He seemed to be getting a bit… insane. His parrot kept his distance; a wise choice. But for some reason, Madison skin felt… cold. Like any time she was scared, which she rarely was. Then she noticed the shapes, darting around Texik's operation. Moving. Hidding. Planning. And unfortunately, she knew exactly what they were…

When Texik finally looked up, he was surrounded by silverfish.

He had many options. He could building a pillar and sniping them, or even try killing them with one of his stolen weapons. But no. His answer to this situation was a few TNT blocks. "Sayonara, suckers!" he yelled, lighting the TNT on fire. But then he remembered that their levels of elevation varied greatly. Too late, he tried getting away from the TNT, as it exploded in all of its destructive glory. He was alive, thank heavens! But he wondered if karma decided to pay him an overdue visit…

...because he had hit a part of the rock where silverfish blocks were concentrated.

He was a dead man. These silverfish looked like they wanted to kill him, and rightfully so. After all, he did disobey orders _AND_ used TNT of all things to remove them from their blocks. The silverfish began to enclose him within a circle, getting closer and closer. Surely this was the end. There was no way he could possibly survive this. Not in a million- an arrow struck one of the silverfish.

Texik turned his head to the top, where Madison was holding a bow, looking scared out of her mind.

The silverfish were occupied with the new threat, giving Texik the time he needed to pull out a glowing arrow. He fired at one of the silverfish, who caught on fire, and began spreading it to the others. Soon enough, all of them were consumed in the flames. They tried attacking Texik, but he had already built a two block tall pillar, which they could not reach. Madison darted to the ground below, slashing at the silverfish whenever she could. By the time they were finished, it was nearly nightfall.

The two returned to the shelter, but Madison wasn't done with Texik yet.

"WHAT IN THE NETHER WERE YOU THINKING!?" she yelled, effectively causing Texik to clasp his ears to avoid them bleeding. "I was thinking about getting rich, for your information…" he managed to mutter. "GET RICH WHEN YOU WON'T DIE!" Madison retorted. "Hey, come on, I'm not dead," assured Texik. His parrot shook its head in dismay. "Only because I saved your sorry behind!" Madison growled. "Well, you didn't have to. Unless…" A potential possibility dawned on Texik. He gave Madison a mischievous smile. "Unless you… like me?"

Texik went to bed with a throbbing headache that night.


	14. Overworlder Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Red Maze**_

After leaving the bridge in the extreme hills biome, the next destination couldn't possibly surprise them.

Of course it proved them wrong. After crossing the desert for an eternity, the group noticed the sand was starting to change color. It went from being a pale yellow to an orange red. "Red sand," Texik whispered. "But, that means-" added Madison. The group continued making their way, until they came across the edge of the plateau. The entire landscape in front of them was filled with red sand, some cacti, and plenty of dead bushes.

The group was in a mesa biome.

Texik once again gained his signature "there's riches here" look. "What is it this time?" Jewel asked reluctantly. Texik took out a pickaxe and a shovel. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD!" His parrot followed him as he dashed toward the mesa, his eyes glazed with greed… again. "Crud," said Pickaxe. He didn't want a repeat of what happened at the extreme hills. Madison told him the entire story. Did Texik's greed know any bounds?

Probably not now, because he had already carved out a massive crater in one of the mountains.

"YES! GOLD! PRECIOUS GOLD!" Texik was laughing like a maniac. Not a good sign. Apparently, a lot of gold ore was concentrated within the mesa biomes. No wonder Texik was obsessed. But they still had a long way to go before getting to Jewel's village, and there was no way ALL of this gold was coming along. "NO! FOOLS! I CAN COMPACT IT!" screamed Texik, trying to claw his way out of Madison's restraint. "Sorry, buddy," said Madison, "No can do." _Oh boy_ , thought Pickaxe. There had to be some sort of compromise here. Did Texik say he could compact the gold?

He was willing to give it a shot, but the sun was starting to set.

Wisely enough, they used Texik's crater in the mountainside as their base of operations. Having established a suitable shelter, while everyone else was asleep, Pickaxe and Texik stayed awake. Pickaxe wanted to figure out how Texik wanted to compact all the gold he collected… "It's quite simple, actually," stated Texik, adopting a professor-esque persona. "You see," he continued, "After smelting the gold into its ingot form, I can place nine of them on a crafting table to create… a gold block!" Texik held up his gold block with pride, his parrot squawking with approval. "And when we need the ingots back, simply place the block on the crafting table again!" Texik stated, placing the block on the crafting table and having it revert back to nine gold ingots.

Pickaxe was impressed. That actually could come in handy later.

* * *

Upon waking up the following morning, the group broke down their temporary shelter, and continued their way through the mesa biome. The red sand would take a little getting used to. Oh, and also the _terracotta_ blocks. There were creepers roaming about, as well as the occasional armored zombie or skeleton. Madison killed them all. Eventually, they stopped roaming when they came across the mountainside. There was something weird jutting out of the side of the mountain.

 _An above-ground mineshaft_.

"Wow," muttered Texik. The mineshaft beckoned the group to enter. "Untold riches…" whispered Madison, obviously drooling at the sight. "We're going in, aren't we?" questioned Jewel. Pickaxe nodded. The group inched closer to the entrance. It was lit up with torches, a welcome sign. Within the first room was a dirt floor and a _rail_ system leading deeper into the mineshaft. On top of that, there was a _minecart_ with a chest inside.

Pickaxe got to it first.

It was a good haul, too. He found another glowing book (Jewel said they were called _enchanted books_ ), some strange blue minerals… _lapis lazuli_ , and a _name tag_. Wait… a name tag!? Perfect! "I believe you were looking for this," gestured Pickaxe, handing Texik the unexplainably rare item. "..." Texik couldn't say anything for a solid five minutes. Then he and his parrot started bouncing off the walls and into the mineshaft.

Luckily, they caught up to him before he got lost.

Unfortunately, Texik figured out that in order to properly use a name tag, they needed to rename it using something called an _anvil_. Depressed, he sulked his way on into the cave, the others following out of pity. Eventually, they came across another minecart with a chest. Texik was the first to get his hands on it. Inside, he found a golden apple, an iron pickaxe, and an iron ingot.

"Hmph… lucky stiff…" muttered Madison.

After some time exploring the caves, the group was separated down the corridors. Texik decided the best course of action was to mine in the direction he believed Jewel was last heading with the compass. On the way, he would stuff his pockets with gold ore all the while. Meanwhile, Madison would be left to strike out cobwebs, kill the occasional wandering monster, and wander down long corridors and staircases. And as for Pickaxe and Jewel?

Yeah… not so monotonous.

Pickaxe had just walked up a corridor into a room. It was filled with _cobwebs_. There was also this weird block in the center of the room. It radiated a sort of… ominous feeling… _monster spawner_. That didn't sound good. What monster did it even spawn? He got his answer through a puff of smoke. It was one of the few mobs he actually hated with a burning passion. It was a cave spider.

He killed the thing in two strokes.

But then more cave spiders began spawning. They seemed unaffected by the cobwebs, much to Pickaxe's chagrin. If only he could stop the multiple onslaughts of the murderous little beasts… wait… Okay, he had a plan. But he was going to require some sheers. With some minor struggle, he managed to cut through the cobwebs surrounding the monster spawner, fending off the cave spiders all the while. He then pulled out his trusty pickaxe, breaking the mob spawner within seconds. After killing the rest of the cave spiders, he started making his way out of the cave. All those cobwebs, though… they COULD be useful.

Jewel, meanwhile, had a rather surprising trip of her own.

It started out innocent enough. It was simply a minecart with a chest. She broke it so that she could get the materials in one fell swoop. She got melon seeds, some redstone, and a few diamonds. "This could compensate for making them worry sick…" she muttered. She probably had the village in a panic. Which reminded her… SHE WAS WASTING TIME! She had to get out of this mineshaft! But how to do it? She looked at her newly acquired minecart. She placed in on the track, and hopped inside.

Once it got a good start, things started going downhill, ironically enough.

The wind was breezing past her as she zipped through the rails. Every so often, she would run into a hostile mob, and would have to divert it elsewhere in the tunnel. It really wasn't a pleasing experience. As Jewel continued down this terrifying rollercoaster, she had the fortune of running into something. Well, _someone_. "Jewel?" asked a startled Madison, before being pushed aside by the speeding minecart. While Madison gave chase, Jewel silently prayed for the ride to be over. Luckily, the railway stopped just before the exit, where Pickaxe was waiting. "Any trouble?" he asked. Madison and Jewel both gave him death glares.

At that moment, Texik and his parrot emerged on the other side of the mountain, literally 3 blocks away from the group.


	15. Overworlder Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15: Keep It Underground**_

After leaving the mesa biome, the group found themselves on the border between an extreme hills biome and a plains biome.

It was a bit weird to say the least. Seeing two different biomes side to side wasn't usually part of exploration. But the compass stated otherwise. As the group continued to make their way across the land, Jewel spotted a cave. "I can hear water…" she mentioned, as the group unanimously agreed to head toward the cave. There indeed was water… but it lead straight down into a dark abyss. "Umm, c-can we t-turn back?" stuttered Texik. But the abyss seemed to call out to Pickaxe, dare him, even. He looked at Jewel, who gave him a reluctant _either way, it's your choice_ look.

He leapt into the abyss, the others following his lead.

As soon as they hit lower waters, they immediately began torching the place. Several mobs had managed to spawn in the place, and were quickly dealt with upon sighting. Pickaxe made sure to wear his pumpkin, in case they ran into an enderman. He hadn't worn in awhile, either. The group continued to make their way down the narrow path, when they started to notice the floor was becoming moss stone. And they also heard groaning. _Zombie_ groaning.

Texik thought it was smart to break the moss stone barrier, unleashing the terrible creatures.

Pickaxe slayed the green monstrosities in an instant, but more were coming. There also seemed to be… smaller versions? "Darn it, baby zombies!" cried Madison, trying to kill the little ones. They were fast! "Awww, but they're too cute," muttered Jewel, before seeing one of them ride a chicken. Texik killed that one. "No. No chicken jockeys," he stated flatly. Where were all these zombies coming from? Pickaxe looked in the center of the room.

He shattered the monster spawner after ripping through a few more zombies.

The group took in the small room where the zombies had come from. It's structure had suggested it was anything _but_ random. " _Dungeon_ …" was all Madison said. The group had encountered a dungeon. But where there was dungeons, there was… "TREASURE!" Texik yelled, immediately flinging himself to the chests in the room. For some reason, both chests contained nothing but iron ingots… oh, and a bucket. He sulked with his lack of proper loot, and made his way out of the dungeon. "There's probably better loot in the cave," he grumbled.

The cave decided not to disappoint.

At least for Madison. Within the cave's walls, there was that one lava pool. Her eyes gleamed with a burning passion, or maybe that was just the lava reflecting off of her eyes. "You guys go on ahead," she assured, "I've got some obsidian to harvest!" She stole Texik's bucket, finding a nearby water source, and began pouring it over the lava. Jewel shook her head with a half worried, half amused expression. "Leave her be," she stated, "She wanted to gather obsidian several weeks ago." The remainder of the group made their way deeper into the cave.

Not long after, they came across a strange blue jewel.

"DIAMONDS!" screamed Texik, immediately lunging toward the area with a torch and pickaxe in hand. But upon placing the torch, he was greeted with the sight of… _lapis lazulli_. "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" he bellowed, promptly deciding to rage deep within the cave. "But it is beautiful…" Jewel whispered. She pulled out her Pickaxe, and mined the ore, while Pickaxe kept watch, and Texik continued his rage, his parrot yet again keeping a safe distance. That was, until… "HELP!" yelled Texik from down the cave.

Apparently, this time the dungeon was filled with skeletons.

It took all the group's effort to just keep the skeletons at bay, as Jewel destroyed the mob spawner, thus giving them the advantage. Several moments later, it was Jewel's turn to look inside the chest. The first one had a name tag (hallelujah!), some diamond horse armor (HALLELUJAH!), and an enchanted golden apple (HaLlElUjAh!). The second chest had… melon seeds, beetroot seeds, and some string. "Welp, that was underwhelming…" commented Texik. Regardless, the group left dungeon, continuing their way down into the cave. Madison was yet to return from her obsidian mining.

Then a squishy sound was heard deeper within the cave.

The group drew their weapons. Strange green blocks made of a translucent goo emerged, but they were moving. _Moving_. On their own. Bouncing straight towards them. They were cute… but in a _I'm gonna murder you_ kind of way. " _Slimes_ … great…" Pickaxe muttered. "KILL THEM!" Texik screeched, lunging toward the slimes while his parrot mimicked their squishy noises. But then he killed one… and it split into two.

After the next few minutes of battling, the group decided to try and find an exit.

After backtracking, they found Madison just as she was completing her obsidian harvest. "Finally, I'm finished!" she sighed in relief. There was a rather empty pool where the lava once was. Only the water Madison used to cool off the lava remained, which she was currently soaking in. Jewel helped Madison out of the crater, and the group began searching for an exit. They mined anything that could be considered useful along the way (diamonds, especially), when once again, they came across moss stone.

Texik should seriously keep away from the stuff.

After defeating the hordes of spiders, with a few bruises for good measure, it was Pickaxe's turn to open the chests. Yet again, he found an enchanted book, some gunpowder, and some redstone. He also found a strange flat circle with a green center… _a music disc_ , as well as an iron ingot and a regular golden apple. "A music disc? Lucky you," commented Madison, "Usually, a skelton has to shoot and kill a creeper for you to get one of those." "True…" added Jewel. " I think that disc is called 'cat.'" With the loot collected, the group continued down the cave, pleased to find an entrance several blocks ahead.

They left the underground just as the sun began to rise.


	16. Overworlder Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16: Swamplands and Spells**_

The sunflower plains seemed a bit out of place next to the beach.

At this point, the group was actually making significant progress. Jewel said she could remember her mother sneaking her out to visit these fields when she was little. "It was so much fun…" she sighed reminiscently. "We always snuck out during the day, and we'd always hide in this cute little shack when it was dark, and- oh! There it is!" Jewel darted to hut made of dirt and wood. The floor inside was cobblestone. There were two beds and a small chest inside. Windows finished the little area's minimalist touch.

Jewel felt at home again.

"How much farther, then?" asked Madison. "Not TOO far…" Jewel stated. "But… there is a swampland we have to go through…" " _Swampland!?_ " exclaimed Texik. "As in slime-infested, murky water wretched, witch hut spawning swampland!?" Clearly, he was against the idea. "What happened to your sense of daring?" Madison asked mischievously. "I woke up, that's what!" retorted Texik, "I nearly died by a creeper explosion because I thought nothing could touch me! I was an idiot! A greifer! I-" "Is that a horse?" Pickaxe interrupted.

Within several minutes, Jewel had made another friend.

She rode her horse with glee, his shimmering diamond armor making her look like royalty. Pickaxe was glad he got the saddle back at the jungle temple. Jewel looked pretty pleased with herself as they strode across the beach. "Once we get to the end of the beach, we'll have to go through the swampland," Jewel commented. " _Woop de doo!_ " Pickaxe heard Texik mutter. The horse simply obeyed the will of his mistress, continuing along the beach. The parrot perched itself on top of its head, much to Texik's disbelief.

Eventually, the group made it to the swampland's border, as night was about to decend.

"Shelter?" asked Pickaxe. "Shelter," confirmed Jewel. The horse and the parrot made neighs and squaks of approval, respectively. Once they set up the shelter and beds, Jewel pulled out a crafting table, making a lead and a fence post. She tied her horse down to the post, and kissed it on the forehead. He affectionately nuzzled against her in reply. Madison and Texik were already passed out on the beds. "They're so cute…" Jewel whispered. Pickaxe was already starting to nod off.

 _He's a good person_ , Jewel thought.

The morning began with Pickaxe digging out the shelter's roof. Jewel untethered her horse, placing the lead in her off-hand instead. The group entered the swampland, immediately wishing they could go back afterwards. Even in the daylight, the place was creepy. Vines creeped down the oak trees like hands trying to strangle them. The murky waters added to the sense of darkness. There were the bright sides, however. The lily pads were somewhat adorable. "I hear there are fossils made of bone and coal below here…" Texik muttered greedily. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly…

Then Pickaxe noticed a blur dashing amongst the trees.

The rest of the group noticed the figure too. They quickly took pursuit, but the figure was fast. It seemed as though a pale blue aura surrounded it. "Potion of swiftness… classic!" Texik complemented, missing a near head strike from Madison. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem so eager to meet us…" Jewel mentioned. "I'll sa- LOOK OUT!" yelled Madison, who darted out of the way of a splash potion. It had a dark brown red hue. "Splash potion of harming…," Jewel muttered, "What the-" The group noticed the blur had vanished into the swampland.

Stubbornly, the group headed in the direction they last saw the blur.

They came across a wooden hut in the water. It was elevated, so it would require some block placement to get up there. Pickaxe was already halfway to the top, the rest of the group scrambling to catch up. Cautiously, he entered the hut. Which was seriously underwhelming. Mushrooms were scattered thinly around the place. A crafting table sat next to a dejected empty cauldron. Not much to brag about, but he took the mushrooms regardless. Then he remembered what time it was.

His skin crawled as he saw a figure pop out of thin air slowly turn to face him.

It almost looked like a villager. But it was wearing dark purple robes. Its nose wiggled and had a small wart. It wore a black, pointed cap, and it seemed to be more… hostile. _Just like a zombie villager_ , Pickaxe thought, _but somehow still just as terrifying_. As if on cue, it threw a splash potion at Pickaxe, who narrowly dodged it. It was a yellow green, and felt like it was trying to sap the energy out of anything it could hit. _Potion of Poison_.

Pickaxe was no fool; he ran out of the hut, into the water, and back to the swamp.

Unfortunately, the swamp was slime territory at night. He wondered why he heard sloshing noises as he slept. But he and the group had to keep going. The thing probably wasn't even following them, and- oh, wait, no it was onto them. And she was also surrounded in a pale blue aura. "Now I remember!" Madison proclaimed, "That was a _witch hut_. We're being chased by a _witch_!" "Don't they like using potions?" commented Texik. Coincidentally, the witch decided to throw a splash potion of slowness at the team.

It hit right on the mark.

While the rest of the group held off the ever-annoying slimes, Pickaxe was struggling with the witch. His first strategy? Try to drown it. It took a potion of waterbreathing. Opposite plan: burn it. Potion of fire resistance. Just when he thought he'd finally take it down, the witch would retreat, and drink a potion of healing. This went on for several minutes. Finally, after one particularly long retreat, the witch decided it was tired of playing mind games.

It took a potion of swiftness, and began its endgame.

First, attacked him with a splash potion of slowness. Then it threw another black-grey splash potion... _weakness_. His attacks started doing less damage, and the witch took full advantage of it. It threw a splash potion of harming to knock him back. Then it threw another splash potion of poison. His vision was darted. How was this monster so strong? It had backed him into a corner like it was nothing. There had to be a way to counter it. There had to be… "CATCH!" yelled Texik, throwing a bucket of milk. Of course! Milk nullified status effects! He gulped the liquid wholeheartedly. It was time to bring this witch to its knees.

After several arrows, it was finally defeated.

It had dropped redstone, gunpowder, sugar, a spider eye, and an empty glass bottle. Not a bad haul. Texik reached out to grab the goods, but a mysterious splash potion suddenly showered upon them. The mysterious figure from earlier dashed out of its hiding place, snatching the loot. "The old water bottle trick never gets old," it said, making off with the bounty. Water bottle trick? ... it wasn't a potion.

Texik was the first to chase after the figure.

The rest of the group followed in close pursuit. To their surprise, the figure stopped running, and turned to face them. It was a girl. She had dark, flowing black hair. Her eyes sparkled a deep blue. She wore a purple cape, with a longsleeved purple gown, with black stockings underneath. She wore light blue shoes to finish the look, as well as mole on her cheek. She pulled out a splash potion of harming. "Uh, no," said Pickaxe, pulling out his bow and firing and arrow. It stunned the girl long enough for Jewel to corner her with her sword. They had the advantage.

Somewhat reluctantly, the girl pulled out a white paper as a symbol of surrender.

After daylight had returned, the group was able to learn more about their new companion. Her name was Sarah. She liked using magic as her line of work, and was thus very knowledgeable about potions and enchantments. She had just created the perfect set of enchantments to use, when a small group of miners had raided her underwater home built underneath a fossil. While all of her items necessary for survival, her potions, and her enchanted books remained intact, her home had been flooded, so she had to abandon it. She was planning on starting anew, but then she spotted the group. Thinking they were with the group that had drowned her home, she tried to lose them at the witch hut, hoping it would end them.

Obviously, it didn't go as planned.

"Probably for the best, I suppose…" she finished. "I don't suppose you want me to stick around after what I did." Madison was willing to say otherwise. "We let a rogue greifer join our group," she explained. " _ **REFORMED**_ _griefer!_ " Texik defended. "I'm sure Pickaxe wouldn't mind…" Jewel vouched. Pickaxe shook his head in approval. "That's very kind," Sarah stated, "But I highly doubt I'd be much use without the proper equipment." "Any weapons?" Pickaxe asked. Sarah pulled out her golden sword. "Not much use, but that's why I have these enchanted books. Unfortunately, I don't have an anvil…" Anvil? Pickaxe and Texik looked at each other knowingly, remembering the sheer amount of iron Texik got from the dungeon.

By the time the group started building the second shelter for the night, they had a new anvil, and Sarah had an enchanted golden sword with Unbreaking III and Sharpness V.


	17. Overworlder Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17: Rarity**_

Placing blocks at sea was a lot less exciting than it sounded.

Unfortunately, Pickaxe was doomed with this task, as Jewel was not willing to let her horse drown at sea. When the group left the swamplands, Jewel advised the group that they'd have to cross the sea to get to her village. "A water expedition…" Sarah commented, intrigued, "Maybe I can find some pufferfish…" However, Sarah was catching nothing on her _fishing rod_. "And this is why I needed that _Luck of the Sea_ enchantment," she whispered. Texik and Madison were simply bickering on their boats.

Naturally, the trip was going just… _swimmingly_.

Nightfall covered the sea, but the group wasn't worried. They had made sure to torch their dirt bridge throughout, so no monsters would be spawning on it. Besides, monsters didn't spawn at sea! At least… most of them. " _Guardians_ like swimming beneath the depths," Madison had mentioned, "But as long as we don't come across an _ocean monument_ , we should be fine." Texik looked like he was sighing from relief. Sarah had decided to examine her sword as she rowed. "As strong as diamond, and as strudy as stone…" she muttered. Sounded dangerous.

It went like this for several hours.

Finally, it was Pickaxe who noticed the strip of land in the distance. "Land…" he whispered. Texik broke out into a rowing frenzy. "LAND! LAND HO!" he yelled, his parrot following. Jewel's horse bucked in approval, and Pickaxe doubled down on placing dirt to get to the shore. When they finally arrived, it was a place none of them had seen before. The dirt was covered in grey-purple mush. Strange large mushrooms were scattered across the terrain. It was just a strip of land… but it looked like there was a bigger surface closer inland.

The group was on a _mushroom island_.

"We're close…" said Jewel. "You live on a mushroom island!?" asked a baffled Texik. Jewel blushed at this. "Well, there's technically no place safer…" Sarah mentioned. Madison added, "Somehow, the islands in of themselves are biomes that prevent the spawning of of hostile mobs." _Sounds pretty safe,_ thought Pickaxe. The group began to build a shelter, since nightfall was closing in. But before they could sleep, there was one more order of business to get out of the way.

Texik pulled out the anvil.

"At long last!" Texik grinned, as he placed the name tag on the anvil. "Let's see here," he muttered, a hammer materializing in his hands. " _Siren_ ," he said, and slammed the hammer down on the anvil three times. The hammer vanished into thin air, and Texik took up the name tag, though Pickaxe and everybody else was too busy clutching their ears to care. He put the name tag on his parrot. It instantly vanished, and the parrot officially had its new name: _Siren_. Pickaxe blinked. "Umm… how does that work?" he asked dumbfounded. "Don't question it," replied Texik.

This time, it was Jewel's turn.

Instead of saying 'Siren' like Texik did, she instead said " _Crown_." She brought the hammer down on the anvil, and gave the name tag to her newly named horse: _Crown_. "Why name the horse Crown, Jewel?" Madison questioned. Sarah was the first to figure out the pun, as she and the other groupmates snickered, before Madison figured it out herself. Now it was Pickaxe's turn. He pulled out his enchanted books. He hadn't looked at them personally, but he was pretty sure Sarah could figure out the contents.

She looked flabbergasted at his collection.

"Sharpness V… Unbreaking III… another Unbreaking III… where did you get these?" she demanded. Pickaxe's reply was, "A jungle temple, an abandoned mineshaft, and a dungeon." Sarah sulked at this. "Lucky one, aren't you?" Pickaxe shrugged. Despite her jealousy, Sarah agreed to help Pickaxe enchant one of his materials. First, he'd combine the Sharpness and Unbreaking enchantments. It felt good to swing that hammer! Next, he'd give the upgrade to his beloved first pickaxe. After he repaired it, of course. The second unbreaking could be saved for later.

"Stronger and sturdier than diamond," Sarah whispered.

Morning had finally come, and the group wasted no time continuing alongside the shore. It was, indeed, quite weird. No mobs would spawn in this biome, so this was a great place to live. But how could Jewel know so much about the world while being isolated from it? These questions were on Pickaxe's mind. _Smart people must be looking out for her_ , he thought. To ensure that no mobs would interrupt, he destroyed a good portion of the dirt bridge, just to be safe. He had so many questions about this place…

...starting with the weird cow in the distance.

It was approaching the group as they made their way inland. It was almost similar to a cow, except for a few… strange differences. The brown on it's body was replaced with red. It's eyes were beady black and huge. Also, mushrooms were growing on its back. "Awwww," Sarah cooed, "A _mooshroom_!" So that's what these things were called. "Just don't shear them," Jewel warned, "Or else they'll be converted into cows!" "TEXIK!" Madison yelled.

"What?" he asked sheepishly, hiding the sheers and mushrooms behind his back as two cows roamed mysteriously in the background.

The main island was a sight to behold. Huge mushrooms, and mushrooms in general, were scattered about in a near abundant fashion. Mooshrooms and their babies wandered aimlessly, occasionally standing in place for Jewel to squeal with delight. "I've been gone for a while…" she explained. Texik was getting impatient. "Where's the village?" he barked. "Cool it," Madison warned, "It's probably not too far from here." The group climbed up one of the steep hills, only to be greeted by a welcoming sight.

At last, they had found the village.

The base had several small houses and farms, like a normal village. But there were some larger houses towards the border, most likely constructed by miners. There was also a small hole-like entrance by the outskirts, presumably a mine. Villagers wander around the area, with several miners tending to the crops or building something or another. There were also these grey, bulky, red-eyed creatures throughout the village… _iron golems_. Good thing they weren't hostile. The place was amazing.

Then one of the miners noticed the group.

He wore glasses, a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers. His hair was a crisp black, and flopped on his face like a short mop. His eyes were a piercing grey. While he looked the same age as the others, like every other miner did, the group could tell he was somehow… older. He held a _book and quill_ in one hand, and a stone hoe in the other. The other miners gathered around him, staring at the group. Jewel was at a loss for words.

"Stan," was all she could say.


	18. Overworlder Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Village Reunion**_

Everyone except the villagers and iron golems stood in place for a good five minutes.

Finally, Jewel sprinted into a run towards the village. Stan and two other miners did the same. At the halfway point, they embraced each other. Jewel was crying tears of joy. The other miners were going crazy, jumping about the place and yelling out cries of victory. Jewel was safe. Jewel was home. Her family could finally be at peace.

The rest of the group began making their way down to the scene.

When their group hug ended, Jewel's family got a good look at the miners who had brought their daughter safely back into their custody. One of them, a girl, embraced Pickaxe in a bear hug, to which he nearly lost his balance. "Thank you," she whispered in gratitude. Pickaxe was somewhat flabbergasted. Comparing the girl and Jewel, they both looked EXACTLY the same, save for attire. The girl was wearing a draping sky blue dress, white stockings, and black shoes, as well as a wooden shovel in her hand. "Apologies," she addressed politely, "My name is Sabrina. I'm Jewel's mother." Pickaxe fought the urge to drop his jaw. Mother!? Sabrina could pass for Jewel's sister!

Stan took this time to whisper in Pickaxe's ear, "Relax; this is a common phenomenon in Minecraft. You'll get used to it."

Meanwhile, the other miner, a boy, was having a chat with Texik. He had hair almost as crazy as Texik, except his was the color of redstone. He had an iron pickaxe at his side, and wore a pale blue shirt, bright orange pants, and leather boots, all of which were somewhat tattered and covered in dirt. His eyes were brown on the left, blue on the right. "A _reformed_ greifer?" he asked in a deep, gruff voice, "I don't believe that's possible." "It's possible, sir…" Texik assured, "All it takes is a near death experience." "Well, then," said the boy, placing his hand on Texik's shoulder rather firmly, "A friend of my daughter is a friend of mine! Oh, and please, call me Reed."

Jewel's parents were going to take some time to get used to.

"Alright, back to work everyone!" yelled Reed to the other miners. "Tonight, we will celebrate the return of my daughter!" The village cheered in approval, then resumed its duties without skipping a beat. "Wow," complemented Madison, "You're family's treated like royalty here." "Well…" Reed was about to say. "DAAD!" Jewel complained. "What?" asked Reed mischievously. _No wonder he and Texik get along_ , thought Pickaxe. "Come along now," Sabrina suggested, "Let's go back to the house. Someone's been waiting to see you!~"

The group followed Jewel's family to what looked like a mansion.

Granted, it resembled a small fortress much more closely. The outer walls were comprised of obsidian. In some exposed areas, Pickaxe could see dark red blocks… _bricks_. Very decorative. Stan motioned for the group to come inside. It was even more homey within its walls. A wooden floor, a fireplace, an _enchantment table_ surrounded by _bookshelves_ for whatever reason. There were even stairs leading up to the second floor.

Sabrina was at the staircase.

"Endre! Someone very special is here to see you!" she called. A miniscule and insecure voice called back, "I'm busy! Trying to find a way to locate Jewel!" "Is that-?" Jewel inquired. Sabrina nodded her head with giddy, before telling Jewel "Shhhh." She called back up, "I think you might like this visitor!" "Fine," Endre called back, "Give me a sec!" "How long has he been up there?" Jewel asked. Sabrina gave a half-amused, half-worried smile. "Too long."

After a few seconds. Endre came down the steps.

His eyes were as purple as an enderman's. His black hair, while short, was shaggy and uneven. He looked pale, and he also seemed to be lacking sleep. He wore a necklace made with string and an enderpearl, and had a map in his left hand. He was rubbing his eyes as he came down the steps. "Seriously, Sabrina. Who exactly is hereeeeeeeeeee…" He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jewel. She gave him a soft smile.

"JEWEL!" he cried, sprinting toward her and tackling her to the floor.

"Hah hah! Endre…" Jewel giggled, as Endre rubbed against her. "If you ever scare me like that again, Jewel, I swear!" Endre proclaimed. Pickaxe had to eventually intervene, pulling Endre off of Jewel. "Friends?" he guessed. "Since childhood," Jewel confirmed, as Sarah helped her up. "W-who's this?" asked a panicking Endre, trying to free himself from Pickaxe's grip, to no avail. "Relax," Stan assured, "They're friendly."

Sabrina clapped her hands to get the group's attention.

"Okay," she began, "Jewel, you can help your friends move into the guest rooms. I'll be in the village trading. Your father will be in the mines. Stan, if our guests need anything, help them out. And Endre, please don't be awkward." "W-wha!?" questioned Endre, as Sabrina gave a playful smile. "We won't be long. Oh, and Jewel, make sure to take care of that horse!" finished Sabrina, as she and Reed left the house. "Oh right! Crown!" Jewel recalled, running to the front door. "Guest rooms are on the top floor. Endre, show them!" she called, before flying out the door.

"Ah, still the same as ever…" Endre said dreamily.

After the group members had moved into the rooms, Pickaxe was having a conversation with Stan. "I really appreciate you taking care of my sister," thanked Stan. "Don't mention it," assured Pickaxe, "Though she did try pulling a sword swing on me when we first met…" "Yeah, she'll do that when she thinks she's in danger." "But anyways, what's the deal with this village, anyway?" "You'll find that out tonight. Any other questions?" "Yeah. When Jewel first showed up, there was this weird obsidian structure in front of my house…" "Oooh… well, that was a broken Nether portal. While we were doing some gathering in the Nether, I had her go through it so she wouldn't die. I barely made it out alive…" "What's the Nether?" "You've never been?" "No." "Probably a good thing. Though, if you plan on making potions, a visit there is inevitable." "Hmmmm…" "Well, nice talking with you, Pickaxe." "Likewise, Stan." "Oh! One more thing…" "Hm?"

"Don't tell Jewel I said anything, but our parents are the chiefs of this village. That's why she didn't want dad to spill the beans. This is just between us, okay?"

Sarah was browsing around the house, when she happened to overhear a conversation between Endre and Texik. "Wait, wait, hold up," Texik began, "You've known Jewel since you two were kids!?" "Y-yeah…" Endre admitted. "Wow, what was it like?" "Eh, same old same old. Though Parker still hasn't given up on trying to woo her over…" "Parker?" "Another friend of ours. His family is the second most powerful in the entire village!" "Who's the most powerful?" "I took an oath not to say." "Darn. So, what's so bad about Parker?" "Well, he's sort of… arrogant and two faced." "Oh boy…" "Yep. As if that wasn't enough, he's completely CRUSHING on Jewel. She's made it obvious she's not interested, but he just can't take no for an answer…" "Oh man, sounds like a nightmare. But… aren't you into Jewel?" "W-what!? Why would you-?" "Relax, I won't tell. Personally, I think I'm getting the hots for Madison... But I don't believe I've seen this Parker guy, yet." "You wouldn't. He's preoccupied doing work in the Nether." "Makes sense, if he's as bad as you say he is…"

Sarah's hand was on her chin. "Something big's about to go down…"


	19. Overworlder Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: End of An Era**_

The village was in full swing that evening.

While Pickaxe and his friends were dancing around this huge fire the miners had set up, there was also lots of food (cake…). The miners had also set up _glowstone_ , torches, and _fireworks_. It was amazing. Every miner was at the scene, dancing, talking, whatever (except griefing)! Sarah was simply sitting on one of the wooden seats the miners had set up. While she enjoyed the festival, she wasn't one for participation. Potions and enchantments were more her thing. She wasn't a recluse; she just wasn't entirely into these types of activities.

Eventually, the time came for a village assembly, and Sabrina was at the post.

"Friends and family," she began, "Today we celebrate the return of my daughter!" She motioned Jewel forward, and the miners went crazy cheering. Jewel looked a bit embarrassed, but Pickaxe and Endre gave her a comforting thumbs up. "Of course, she wouldn't be here…" Sabrina continued, "If it wasn't for the combined efforts of these miners!" The miners urged Pickaxe's group forward next to the post, cheering them on all the while. "Now, with that said, let us count our blessings, and party 'til the break of dawn!" Sabrina finished.

The village unanimously agreed with that notion.

As the rest of the village partied, Reed came out of his house, embracing Jewel as she was dancing. "DAD!" she yelled, but nonetheless accepted the hug. Pickaxe and company were naturally there to see the whole thing. "Can you blame me," Reed confessed, "When I haven't seen you for so long?" "No…" Jewel admitted. "So," Pickaxe interjected, "Can someone please explain the establishment of this village?" "Of course!" Reed eagerly agreed. "Dear…" Sabrina weakly protested. "Well then…" Reed began…

 _It all started several years ago._

 _I used to live in a city called Mojang. I was one of the high officials, a profound fighter and adventurer. I had survived several expeditions to the Nether, and even got to join an party exploring the End once. I had also won plenty of fights in my day. But there was always this yearning for something bigger… something more. I later realized I wanted to be given a greater purpose than my current position. So, with permission from the leader of Mojang, I, as well as a group of friends, left the city in search of a wonder the likes no one had ever seen. After a few mishaps in the Nether, we eventually ended up here, on a mushroom island with a village. No one knew those even existed! With our wonder found, we eventually established a home here. We started families. Miners who were lucky enough to find the place usually integrated into the society. And now, after so long, here we are, thriving just as much as when we started out…_

"Hmmm… that's pretty impressive…" commented Pickaxe.

"Isn't it?" asked Reed, obviously trying to keep himself on the low-low. "Don't get him started," begged Jewel. "Come on, dear," Sabrina asked, "There's cake." "Cake!?" Reed exclaimed, immediately leaving to eat said cake. "Oh, boy, dad…" sighed Stan, who had some cookie crumbs on his chin. Madison woke up after passing out during Reed's story. "Huh? What'd I miss?" she asked quickly. "Calm down," said Endre, literally popping out of nowhere. He was playing with an enderpearl not on his necklace. "Most convenient form of travel," he bragged.

This small group of miners ended up conversing for a rather long amount of time.

"So, how exactly did you guys meet Jewel?" Stan asked. "I mean, I know Pickaxe met Jewel sometime after escaping the Nether…and nearly cutting his head off…" Jewel punched Pickaxe's arm at this, "But what about the rest of you?" And thus, the other miners began telling their stories. About how Madison had saved Pickaxe and Jewel from a creeper, and almost raided their house. About how Texik buried the house in sand, and was saved from death by creeper. About how Sarah had almost led the group to death, and stole their loot. "W-wow," Endre commented. "Friendships really do start from a place of conflict." It was at that moment the group heard a scream:

"THE ENDERMAN"S BACK! THE ENDERMAN'S BACK!"

Pickaxe put on his pumpkin and some armor. "I'm gonna get mom!" said Stan, running to the house. The other miners were fleeing to the scene. An enderman? Here? "Endre, what's going on?" asked Jewel. Endre managed to stutter the details, "W-well, after you d-d-disappeared, s-somebody left the portal in the base open, a-and the enderman got through. When it's d-daylight, it l-l-likes hiding in the mines, and-" "Save the story for later," interrupted Madison, brandishing her iron axe, "We've heard all we need to know…"

When the group got to the location, Sabrina in tow, they saw something they'd never hope to see.

The enderman was hostile, there was no questioning that. It had a block of mycelium in its hands, and was currently using it to whack… Reed? "Dad!?" Jewel gasped in shock. "Stay back!" Reed managed to say, trying to get a hit on the enderman with an iron sword. But the thing kept dodging, and eventually, it got one hit in. Reed stepped back, his body still absorbing the pain. "DEAR!" Sabrina cried, trying to go aid him, but Stan held her back. The creature teleported behind Reed, hitting him again. He stumbled and collapsed, barely alive. "We have to help your father!" Sabrina begged. "It won't do us much good if we make it even more mad!" Stan argued. The creature loomed its dark presence above Reed, preparing for the final blow. The miners looked in horror at the apparent fate of their leader. "NO!" Jewel cried out.

The enderman brought down it's mycelium block full force… but was met with a enchanted diamond pickaxe.

The village was in shock. Pickaxe swatted away the enderman, as Stan finally let go of Sabrina, who ran to help Reed. It was Pickaxe's turn to face the dark foe. It came at him with surprising speed without teleporting, managing to get a few hits in. Pickaxe wasn't having it. He managed to land a strike. Then a second. A third! He had the enderman on the run. Then it started teleporting like crazy. He couldn't get a clear swing. Then he remembered something he heard Madison say somewhere in the blur of the journey here:

 _Enderman can't teleport behind you if you're back's to the wall._

Pickaxe followed this piece of advice, pressing his back up against the wall of a house near the shore. The enderman tried teleporting, but ended up right in front of him! Seeing his opportunity, he slashed his pickaxe against the monster, send ing him into the sea. The enderman howled in pain, trying to keep afloat. _Endermen hate water_ , Pickaxe recalled. It was now or never. He took his pickaxe, ready to strike. He saw the enderman try teleporting several times at sea. Then it disappeared. But Pickaxe knew it wasn't dead yet. With all his strength, he swung his Pickaxe behind him…

…and sent the enderman to his grave.

Everything was silent. The enderman dropped his five experience orbs, as well as an ender pearl. Pickaxe picked it up with intrigue. He _definitely_ knew this would come in handy later. "Stronger and sturdier than diamond…" Sarah recalled. While most of the village was gathered around Sabrina and the chief, Pickaxe's friends gathered around him. "A-are you okay!?" asked a shook Endre. "How in Notch's name are you alive!?" "I...don't...know…" Pickaxe managed to disclose, the aftermath of his adrenaline rush leaving him gasping for air. "Dude… you _crushed_ that enderman," Madison commented, "That's something very few people can brag about. Especially me." "Not bad, miner. Not bad." added Stan. "I think… I need… some rest…" Pickaxe gasped. He nearly stumbled over, but Jewel managed to catch him. "Whoa. Easy, Pickaxe. Easy…" she assured. Sabrina and Reed rushed over to the group, the other miners heading back to the village.

"Oh my," Sabrina stated upon seeing Pickaxe. "We should head back to the house…"


	20. Overworlder Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20: More to Come**_

Pickaxe thought it was a dream when he woke up.

Of course, Jewel and Sarah were there to tell him otherwise. "Check your inventory," they commanded. Pickaxe ended up pulling out the enderpearl… and the block of mycelium it dropped. "Welp, that happened," was all he could say at this point. Both girls nodded. So Pickaxe had killed an enderman… and he _lived_. He was just waiting for someone to tell him it was all a joke. Instead, Stan appeared at the door. He said, "Mom wants to see you."

Okay, not a dream.

Sabrina was waiting for him in the kitchen. Her face brightened when she saw him. "Oh, Pickaxe! Please, do take a seat." Pickaxe did so, as Sabrina began to look for something in a chest. She picked out two pumpkin pies. "Hope you're hungry!" she said, giving Pickaxe one of the pies. Before he began eating, he mentioned, "Stan said you wanted to see me?" Sabrina nodded, wiping off the pie crumbs from her face and hands. "Well… I just wanted to say… thank you…" she thanked. Pickaxe didn't quite get it. "Thank you," she continued, "For protecting the village… and Reed…" Oh, right. Reed almost died at the enderman's hands. Sabrina felt like she needed to change the subject.

"Um… do you… like my daughter?"

Pickaxe nearly choked on his pie. Sabrina was asking him _THIS_ question!? "By like, do you mean…" "YES, I do mean LIKE like!" Sabrina confirmed. Great… "With all do respect, Sabrina," Pickaxe managed to say, "I think your daughter is a wonderful person. She's a great friend. I personally think of her as a sister. But…" "You don't LIKE like her, per say," Sabrina finished. "...yeah. I mean, I really don't see her and me in that kind of relationship. I like to think of her as a sister, but that's about it. I do care about her, though. I'd protect her for as long as she needed i-" Sabrina raised her hand to demand silence. "I understand," she assured. "But just know that whether or not you like my daughter, the way you see her as a sister…" She drew close to Pickaxe, putting her arms around him, "Is the way I see you as my son."

As Pickaxe left the kitchen, he could've sworn he saw Reed and Stan nodding in approval from one corner in the house.

At this point of the day, the village was busy as usual. Some were in the mines, others were tending to the fields, a few were building, and some were trading. Not far from the house, Pickaxe's friends were busy talking with Endre. "Hey, Pickaxe!" called Texik. He joined the group as soon as he could. "Have any plans?" asked Endre. "Well," Pickaxe admitted, "I was originally planning to head back home, but… I could consider staying here in the village." "Sweet," approved Madison. "At the very least a few days," he continued, "I could help with mining." "Good, we desperately need more diamonds," Endre commented.

"But what about the rest of you guys?" asked Pickaxe.

"Well, I plan to help my family out a bit," said Jewel, "Maybe even head back to the Nether." "Ditto on that," added Madison, "The Nether has monsters." "Eh, I'm more into trading," Texik commented. "I plan to help manage the Nether resources," Sarah pipped in. "Good!" Endre applauded, "I personally plan farming…" "Hey youngsters, get over here!" shouted Reed. He, Sabrina, and Stan were all standing behind some chests.

 _What's in them?_ , thought Pickaxe.

"Everything you need to get started building a home!" announced Sabrina. "Wood, crafting tables,beds, furnaces, chests…" "Don't forget the torches!' added Stan. "The only question is: where are you gonna stay?" Reed asked. Pickaxe looked around the island. He noticed a large brown mushroom in the distance. His eyes gleamed with determination. "Oh boy…" muttered Texik, seeing what Pickaxe was planning to do. He grabbed the resources, and ran to the mushroom.

Time to craft some ladders.

Within the course of several minutes, he had crafted his second home. The ladders were placed on the stalk, leading up to a trapdoor that allowed entryway into his home. On top of the mushroom, he had filled in the missing corners of the flat surface with cobblestone, and used the remaining wood and stone to create the walls and roof. He also added windows and torches where they were most appropriate. Finally, he placed his bed, chest, furnace, and crafting table in his new house.

 _Not bad for a miner. Not bad._

* * *

He stumbled out of bed when he heard the sound of _note blocks_ in the morning. From his windows, he could see the entire village was gathered around one miner and a Nether portal in the center. The miner had white hair and light grey eyes from what he could see. He was even paler than Endre, and he was shaking and fidgeting like a madman. What's more, he looked like he had the poison effect… oh no. He flew down the ladder, desperate to get the center. Over the sounds of the miners' nervous chatter, he could hear Reed's voice: "What happened? Please, answer me!" "Dad!" he heard Endre say.

 _Oh crud_ , thought Pickaxe, _this just got real_.

"Parker… gone… rouge," the miner croaked. Pickaxe could get a better look at him now. He wore a black shirt and purple pants. He wore no shoes, and an flint and steel was being weakly carried in his hands. "What do you mean?" demanded Reed. "Plans… to take… village… over." The miner was looking worse as he tried to speak. "Look at me, Dad!" Endre begged, clutching his dad's shoulders. He could barely focus on him. "It's gonna be okay, it's just poison" Endre stated, trying to keep him sane. "No," he whispered, "Parker… made… alliance… kill… anyone… in… his… way…" Endre looked like he was about to cry.

Suddenly, Endre's dad threw him out of the way, as an arrow struck his chest.

The village watched in horror as Endre's father slumped to the ground. The Nether portal's purple energy combusted, leaving no way to enter where the arrow had come from. Pickaxe was barely able to comprehend the events himself. He just saw Endre's father get shot, possibly to death. "Son," he managed to utter, the light in his eyes fading. Endre was immediately by his father's side. "Don't… go down… without… a… fight…" Those were his last words.

Endre's father disappeared into dust, leaving the flint and steel, as well as a stone sword, among other things.

Endre just slumped there, motionless. The village didn't know what to think. Pickaxe didn't know what to think. Whoever this Parker guy was… he needed to be taught a lesson. You couldn't just kill an innocent man in cold blood and expect to get away with it. And he was plotting to overthrow the village? Oh no. Not on his watch. He looked toward his friends: Jewel, Madison, Texik, Sarah. They all nodded their heads in agreement. Pickaxe walked up to Endre. He extended his hand. Endre looked up, and took his hand. "We're off to the Nether," he declared.

Pickaxe was ready. After all, _when one story ends, another one begins..._

* * *

 _End of Book One: Overworlder_


	21. Nether Dead (Book 2) Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: The Days Before**_

One more morning closer to the expedition.

Endre was up early that morning. While everyone else was sleeping in bed, he was at the training grounds, whacking the living daylights out of an armor stand. He was itching for the day he could enter the Nether, and send Parker to an early grave. He could still hear his father's last words: " _Don't… go down… without… a… fight…"_ Oh, there wouldn't need to be a fight. Endre was going to march into the Nether, and show Parker who was boss. Nothing was going to stand in his way. No- _ **squish.**_ Someone was here. He shot an arrow in the direction of the footstep…

...only to be met with Pickaxe, who begrudgingly plucked it out of his chest.

* * *

Pickaxe was in the mines, working himself to death, as usual. Ever since he witnessed Endre's father get shot with an arrow, he knew another expedition was afoot. Of course Sabrinna tried talking him out of it on several occasions. He usually wasn't there to hear it. Eventually, she caved in. "But please," she begged, "At least stay for the week." He couldn't say no to THAT. Combined with the fact that she was near-identical to Jewel… you get the idea.

Besides, it wasn't TOO long of a time to wait.

He emerged from the cave, swerving his head left and right to make sure he wouldn't get hit with an arrow. _Endre's seriously worked up_ , thought Pickaxe, _I don't blame him, either_. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that, though. He had emeralds. And he was going to use them. "64 of these things…" he whispered. "Let's have some fun." First item on the list: a fishing hook. He stopped a villager in a brown robe. "Any deals, fisherman?" he asked politely.

 _One Enchanated Fishing Rod for Eight Emeralds. Take It Or Leave It._

He planned to fish later that day. But he still had 56 emeralds left. What to do, what to do… "Hey, Endre!" he called out. Said miner turned his head around, and let out a "MEEP!" Pickaxe laughed, adding, "Relax! I'm fine." Endre sighed from relief. "In fact," Pickaxe mentioned, pulling out 12 emeralds, "I wanted to give you these."

Pickaxe and Endre could've sworn they heard Texik "WHOOP-WHOOOOOOOOP!"-ing in the distance.

Back to haggling. He needed to find a librarian, stat. Luckily, one of the white robed villagers was currently standing in front of the local library. "Over here, my good man!" Pickaxe yelled. _A Bookshelf for Four Emeralds. Take It Or Leave It._ He took the bookshelf and placed it in front of him. Then he cutted it with an axe. Three books feel in the bookshelf's place. "Yes!" Pickaxe cheered. Now he could get the ultimate goal of his master plan. "How much for three enchanted books?" he asked.

The rest of his emeralds later, Pickaxe had acquired _Luck of the Sea I_ , _Looting II_ , and _Fortune III_.

* * *

Jewel and Stan probably should've stayed hidden this morning.

The first thing their parents did was assign them to farm work. Jewel had been assigned to the animals; Stan was currently tending to the crops. "Darn. Why does beetroot have to grow so soon?" Stan muttered. He was more into books, not labor! _But_ , he thought, _I might as well get used to the responsibility_. He was going to have a lot of it in the future. "Wonder how Jewel's doing with the animals…" he thought aloud.

Unsurprisingly, she was doing quite well.

She had sheared all the sheep, collected the chickens eggs, and had milked (and souped) all the mooshrooms. She adored animals, especially considering they wouldn't kill her on sight like _other_ mobs… Where was mom? She was supposed to be here by now. Something about teaching her "The secret of life." _How bad could it be?_ , she thought, as Sabrina began to approach the pens.

After some wheat and seeds, Jewel decided she needed to go see Sarah.

The enchantress was currently putting her focus on a brewing stand in the local brewery. "Whatcha making?" Jewel asked, startling Sarah from behind. After catching her breath, she calmly answered, "Just some potions of swiftness." She pulled out the sugar, placing it at the top of the stand.

Within the course of a few seconds, the awkward potions had changed into potions of swiftness.

"And that's the last of the blaze powder," Sarah sighed. She began to play with her golden sword again. "That trip to the Nether can't come soon enough…" "Mmm hmm…" Jewel muttered. She looked… despondent. "What's up?" asked Sarah. Jewel looked like she didn't want to respond. "Just… thinking about an old friend…" she answered. Sarah knew that wasn't the whole story.

"Wanna talk about it?"

* * *

Madison was in the right place at the right time.

Pickaxe was walking to the main island shore, an enchanted fishing rod in hand. He looked unintentionally swanky. She let out a small snicker. "Someone looks like they'll enjoy fishing." she thought aloud. That being said, Pickaxe sat a block away from the shore, and casted his rod. He waited for several moments. Particles began surfacing on the water. Pickaxe reeled in his catch, and caught… a puffer fish.

Not TOO bad, but he could do better.

He casted his rod again. Madison watched with intent. What would he catch this time? He reeled in his rod again to find… leather boots. _Did not see that coming_ , Madison admitted in her head. Pickaxe placed the boots in a chest he placed next to him. He tried to reel in another catch, and found… a regular fish. Again, he casted his rod, and found… ink sacs. _How anticlimactic_ , Madison muttered in her head.

Usually Pickaxe caught fish, a few times he caught junk, until…

A bow was on his hook. Pickaxe and Jewel gawked at the discovery. A bow. On a hook. "Wow," was all Pickaxe could say. Endre suddenly walked up to Pickaxe. "Hey," he greeted. "Hey," Pickaxe greeted back. Then he took a second look at him. Endre was wearing this weird type of helmet he hadn't seen before. " _Chainmail_ ," Endre stated, "I got it with the emeralds you gave me. Speaking of which, I also got... this!" He pulled out an enchanted iron shovel. "This bad boy somehow had Smite V! All the zombies will fear me now!" "Cool," complemented Pickaxe, before showing off his pickaxe's newly acquired Fortune III and his sword's Looting II. "Wanna fish?" he asked, pulling out a fishing rod from the sea.

They were there until the sun was about to set.

* * *

Under the cover of darkness, the Nether portal was reactivated. None in the village would have known that two figures stepped out of the portal, their faces concealed in darkness. "Are you sure this is the place?" asked one of the voices. "I'm certain." said the other voice, sounding much younger and refined than the former. "I don't see why you're interested in this miniscule village…" "All in good time my friend. For now, all you need to know is that a grand treasure is buried here." "The rich kind?" "Surprisingly, no. The dimensional kind." "Then why don't we just grab it now, while the village is oblivious?" "It would take too long. Besides, we're here for another reason… an old friend of mine…" "Dwell on the past, much?" "I don't have to answer that question. We won't get her tonight, anyway. I just needed to see her house's location." "Why is she so important?"

"She's the chief's daughter, nimrod."

"Oh." "Yes, and once I convince her to join my cause, it will only soften the chief's current opposition against me." "Is that so? I heard she's got some new friends, if the rumors are true…" "Nonsense. It's merely rumors to belittle her. She can survive on her own. They just kept her in a cage…" "And your solution was to nearly kill her?" "T-that was a mistake! I underestimated the potential danger she would be in!" "Even so, what makes you think she'll join you? No doubt she saw the murder of the old coot you shot." "He was a loose end. The girl will listen to me. She wouldn't ignore a friend." "Are you delusional?" "No. I just see the way things should be. Now get back to your post, or you won't receive pay." "Fair enough."

"Don't worry, Jewel. We'll be together soon… as the rulers of our new empire…"

The portal dissipated as the figures left, leaving no indication of their meeting.

* * *

 _Pickaxe_

 _A Minecraft FanFiction_

 _Book Two: Nether Dead_

* * *

 ** **Author's Note: Trust me my friends, the next few adventures won't be so easy. I somehow finished the remainder of Book One in a day, so I figured,**** ** _ **What the heck?**_** ** **I'll try to get Book Two out as best as I can, but I start school soon, so… expect more delays than usual. I hope you enjoyed the first book… because the second one's about to bring the heat. ...I'll see myself out. Bye!****


	22. Nether Dead Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: An Unsettled Score**_

Pickaxe found Jewel in a rather good mood.

She was chatting with Madison at the moment, but she was looking rather upbeat. Like the time she had Pickaxe make desserts. "You noticed, too?" asked Endre, yet again appearing out of nowhere. "What happened?" asked Pickaxe, instead of leaping out of his wits. "Well, I did hear she was going to be taking Crown for a ride on the shore. That, and she also had a really good breakfast." Pickaxe's stomach grumbled. He took a beetroot he got from Stan. "How did she even get a horse?" Endre commented.

Before Pickaxe could answer, Sarah walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him off without saying without a word.

He had tried to leave several times. Each time he was hit with a splash potion of slowness, and dragged back to his spot just before the shore. It was mind-numbing. From the distance, Pickaxe saw Jewel leading Crown by a lead. "Ready for the experiment?" asked Sarah, Jewel nodding with minor reluctance. "Experiment?" Pickaxe inquired, perplexed. "Hold still," Sarah commanded, throwing a splash potion at Pickaxe's feet. It had a silver tint to it. " _Splash Potion of Swiftness II_ ," Sarah explained, "Allows you to run 8 blocks a second." "Okay, why's that important?" Pickaxe was getting impatient. "We're trying to see how fast Crown can run," Jewel inserted, "And we figured the faster the opponent, the better."

Pickaxe questioned why he was doing this, but nonetheless decided to comply.

After Jewel mounted Crown, she and Pickaxe took off like speed demons. While Pickaxe was moving _extremely_ fast, faster than he had ever ran, Crown and Jewel were faster. They beat him to the end of the shore and back, to which he begrudgingly accepted this defeat. "Interesting," Sarah muttered, "He's one of the faster breeds." "Come on, guys!" Texik yelled from the village's edge, waving his hands like a maniac, "Nightfall's almost here!"

The village was drifting off to sleep by the time the group entered their houses.

* * *

Elsewhere in the village, the Nether portal was once again reactivated. Out of the purple spiraling light came forth a miner, as well as a small squad of four other miners. "Guard the exit," the first miner ordered, to which one of the miners saluted and stayed behind at the portal. The squad and its leader began approaching one of the houses… one made of obsidian and bricks.

They entered without making a sound.

Jewel was sleeping like a baby. Her hand was beside her head as she slept, her breathing soft and even. An irritating light emerged in the center of the room. Jewel murmured and tried pulling her head beneath the covers. "Staaaaan….." she groaned, raising herself so she could dissipate the light, "I told you to stop doing tha-" Her grumbling was cut short, as a sword was put against her neck. "Don't move, and don't make a sound," the wielder commanded, his voice quiet but stern. Jewel was terrified. In front of the door was another figure, his face hidden in the darkness.

"Come now Blade, where are your manners? At least give the poor girl a chance to breathe."

Jewel froze. That voice… she was familiar with it somehow. The figure walked into the light of the torch. He was clad in golden armor, save for the helmet, with a golden sword at his side. His face was handsome, with an angelic feeling to it. His wavy hair was a beautiful bronze, his eyes a shiny silver, his smile threatening to the eyes. "Parker…" was the only word Jewel could utter. The figure's smile widened. "How've you been, Jewel?"

In the mushroom house he had created, Pickaxe was starting to wake up to a faint purple light in the distance...

"Why are you here?" Jewel demanded, confused. Parker let out a small chuckle. "Why Jewel, I came to see you." He took a step forward, but Jewel took a step back. His confidence was yet to leave him. "You don't have to be afraid," he assured Jewel, "I'm not going to hurt you." Jewel's face was still distrusting. "Why should I believe you?" she inquired, "You killed Endre's father!" Parker's subtle demeanor slightly faltered at this. "It was a necessary evil," he defended, "Besides, you need to understand. There doesn't have to be any further conflict." Jewel was bewildered. "What do you mean?" "Come with me to my fortress in the Nether. Once your father sees that one of his own isn't afraid of me, he'll be open to negotiation. Jewel, please. I'm begging you." Jewel wanted to believe him. She didn't want anyone to get hurt, and his offer was tempting, but… he wasn't telling her the whole story. She had known him long enough to know when he was telling the truth, or suppressing some of it.

"I'm sorry," she admitted, "But right now, I can't trust you."

Parker looked hurt. Jewel felt guilty at what she had just done. "I appreciate the offer," she assured, "But I know you're hiding something from me…" Parker looked into her eyes. He had a solemn expression on his face. "You're right," he admitted. "I have been keeping some details... under wraps. Unfortunately…" He did a hand gesture, and the Blade once again put the sword to her neck. "...I can't tell you those details until you come with me." "No! Parker, please!" Jewel begged. He held his hand up, demanding silence. "Sorry, Jewel," he apologized, "But I can't have you telling the other miners about seeing me."

They started walking down the steps to the bottom floor.

Jewel wanted to scream. She wanted to take down her would be captors, run to her father, and have him send them all running back to the Nether. But her captors had the advantage. She couldn't use her tools effectively in her current position. Why didn't she try escaping earlier? As they headed down to the base of the steps, Jewel saw a pair of familiar purple eyes. Oh, thank goodness! Endre was part night owl! But how was he going to save her? She saw Endre toss something behind the group. They all swiveled around as they heard the sound of shattered glass.

 _The old water bottle trick never gets old_ , Jewel thought.

Endre jumped down from the balcony, pulling out his shovel. He swatted Parker to the side, as well as some of the other squad members. He knocked out Blade, who was holding Jewel hostage, freeing her from his sword. Jewel hugged Endre, much to his embarrassment. "Come on," he told Jewel, beginning to make his way to Sabrina and Reed's quarters, "We need to get help- GRAHHH!" Endre had been shot with two tipped arrows in the back. He was followed by Jewel, the two slumping to the ground in defeat. The archer put down her bow, her face covered by a black skeleton skull. She brought Parker to his feet, who dusted his armor off with an offended expression.

He approached Endre, and kicked him in the ribs.

"GFFF!" he grumbled, trying to hold back the pain. "Know your place, fool," snarked Parker. He turned to his archer. "Grab the girl," he commanded. The archer obeyed, grabbing Jewel by the back of her shirt collar and dragging her out of the house. Endre tried to get up, but his body was too weak. There was only one thing he could do at this point: "HELP!" he screeched. Blade struck Endre in the back, knocking him out. The squad could already hear the village beginning to awaken.

"Time to go," Parker grumbled.

The squad began running back to the the Nether portal, with the archer carrying an unconscious Jewel over her shoulder. When they got to the portal, it wasn't glowing. An obsidian block had been removed, and the guard was nowhere to be found. "Where did he go?" grunted Blade, who added, "I thought you had this figured out last night." "I did," Parker responded sternly, "But it appears a knotted end has been untied…" _**SPALSH! SWIP SWIP! SPLASH!**_ Parker swiveled his head behind him. His squad was lying on the floor, arrows and potions at their sides. _Darn, I've been discovered!_ , he thought disgustedly. He ran to Jewel, and slung her over his own shoulder. "SHOW YOURSELF!" he yelled into the darkness, masquerading a brave face. "Don't you mean _yourselves_?" said a girl's voice. Parker turned toward it, only to be shot with an arrow. He dropped Jewel, who was carried off by another figure, before being hit by a splash potion of slowness. The figures in question were illuminated by a torch one of them placed down.

Pickaxe, Madison, Texik, and Sarah did not look happy.

"So I take it your Parker?" Pickaxe guessed. Parker didn't like the looks of this guy. He looked awful for one thing, but he also had a sense of… danger to him. "Who wants to know?" Parker retorted, still trying to hold onto what little ground he had left. "Endre told me all about this guy…" Texik brought up, "He fits the description perfectly." Parker raised his hands in mock surrender, "Fine, you got me. Why does it matter?" "You were trying to kidnap Jewel," Sarah reminded him. "Ah," Parker recalled, "Yes, well, it wasn't meant to be a kidnapping." His hands slowly fell behind his back. "I originally wanted to escort her peacefully…" Blade shook his head as he slowly stood up behind Madison. "But as you can already tell…" Blade raised his weapon, and Parker held a fire charge in his hand. "Things didn't go according to plan."

Blade knocked Madison to the side, as Parker threw the fire charge at Pickaxe.

Pickaxe dodged the fire charge, and rushed towards Parker. Texik broke Madison's fall, leaving Sarah to take care of Blade. Parker's sword and Pickaxe's pickaxe clashed with sparks flying. Their weapons slashed back and forth vigorously, each miner determined not to lose to the other. "Why do you care?" barked Parker, "I haven't seen you in the village before today. Why do you care about her!?" Pickaxe kept slashing, eventually replying, "I couldn't just leave her to die in front of my own house! I couldn't leave her in the middle of nowhere without getting her home!" "Nonsense! She found her way home herself! She didn't need help!" Parker retorted.

The sparks kept flying until Parker's sword shattered.

"NO!" he cried. Pickaxe held his pickaxe up to Parker's chest. "You lose," Pickaxe declared. Behind the group, the sun began to rise. The village was at the scene of the fight, led by a beaten Endre. Sarah had Blade pinned to the ground. The archer was nowhere in sight. Reed came to the front of the group. "Abducting my daughter to try opening negotiation?" Reed shook his head, and spat on the floor. "You disgust me, boy." Parker's face was downcast. "I guess that's it, huh?" Endre gave him a scowl, "You're going to pay for what you did…" Parker began laughing. "What did I do?" Oh, well maybe this." Pickaxe raised his eyebrow in confusion.

Reed was pierced by a tipped arrow of poison.

"WHAT THE-" was all Endre could say, before being hit with an arrow himself. A barrage of arrows overtook the group. The archer was at Parker's side, having completed her work. Parker was about to grab for Jewel, but was blasted aside by a fire charge. Texik gave him a sadistic grin, "Not until I die a painful death," From behind, Pickaxe managed to toss Parker right in front of his portal, the collision causing Parker to slump to the ground. "We're not letting you go that easy," Pickaxe declared. Parker slowly raised himself against the portal. "I'd like to stick around, but… I got an invasion to plan." Another squad member snuck from behind the portal, placing block of TNT in front of it. He ignited the TNT and the portal, slipping through the gateway. "See ya!" Parker taunted, running through the portal, followed by his archer and Blade. "PARKER!" screamed Endre, running toward the the portal.

The purple energy was dissipated, and the TNT exploded in an raging blast.

Endre flew from the portal to a nearby house, slamming against the wall. Sarah ran to aid him, as Jewel started to stir into consciousness. Sabrina rushed to her side. "Jewel?" she dared to ask, her face filled with worry. Jewel's eyes fluttered; she managed to whisper, "M...mom?" Sabrina immediately embraced her daughter, relieved that her daughter was okay… for the most part. Texik was gritting his teeth. "I can't wait to beat his stupid little face into a plup!" He looked like he was on the brink of madness. Pickaxe was looking at the portal.

They had to find Parker, wherever he was.

"Where is the guy, anyway?" questioned Madison, "I'm pretty sure he isn't stupid enough to stay at the first base, but I would hope so…" Reed rotated his shoulder, grunting, "No one has been in or out of the portal since Shawn was killed…" He winced when he said the name _Shawn_. _That must be Endre's father's name_ , processed Pickaxe. "Even if we were in the Nether," Sabrina added, helping Jewel up, "We have no way of guaranteeing we'd find Parker…" Now what?

"Actually, I may have our answer," Pickaxe admitted.

The group followed him into his mushroom house. They all let out a unanimous gasp. In between Pickaxe's bed and chest was the guard assigned to the portal. He looked scrawny. He wore full leather armor, his short hair a pale red, his frightened eyes a dark green. "Please," he begged, "If you're going to kill me, just get it over with." "Sweet mercy, this guy's a wimp…" muttered Texik under his breath. "We're not gonna kill you. Can you get us to Parker's base?" Pickaxe asked, ignoring Texik's underhanded comment. "Yes," he shakingly replied, "But… why aren't you going to kill me?"

Pickaxe just shrugged. "You haven't done anything to make me consider the possibility."

"Good," Reed approved, "I'll prepare a search party in the morning. After that, we can relocate you to a different location. Until then, we need to start relocating Jewel and her friends…" "What?" Jewel questioned in shock. Reed turned to face his daughter. "I'm sorry, Jewel. But we know that Parker is after you. While we're trying to locate him, we can't allow him to locate you. And it's not like your friends aren't targets after what happened. Please understand." Jewel looked like she wanted to protest. But Reed was already down the ladder when she turned to face him.

All that had happened… and they couldn't do a thing about it.


	23. Nether Dead Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3: Going Deeper**_

In the morning, Reed had Sabrina and Stan accompany the group back to the mainland.

"There's another village several dozen blocks away," he said the night before the group left. "It will take a day's journey from the shore, so build shelter tomorrow and keep voyaging the next day." Jewel looked mad at her father, an expression that was rarely seen on her face. Reed sighed. "I'm sorry, Jewel. But sooner or later, Parker will try to kidnap you or kill your friends! We need to stay a step ahead of him." The look on her father's face was heartbreaking, but Jewel's expression refused to soften.

Pickaxe had just finished re-connecting the land bridge.

Crown would not be coming with them; it was too risky, even with diamond armor, to let a horse brave where miners would go at night. This didn't make Jewel's mood any better as the began to walk along the dirt. Stan would occasionally try to cheer her up, but to no avail. Sabrina was, uncharacteristically, silent most of the time. Pickaxe rarely noticed, but every now and then her face curled into a brief, cryptic smile. He didn't know whether to be worried or confused. Perhaps a bit of both.

When the group arrived at shore, everyone but Stan headed in the same direction.

"Ummm…" he brought up awkwardly, "Shouldn't we build a shelter closer to the village?" Sabrina stifled a small giggle. "Oh, right!" Endre exclaimed, "Stan and Reed don't know!" "Don't know what?" inquired Stan. Sabrina motioned for Stan to follow her, adding, "Don't tell your father." Within a few steps. The group had found the cottage. Stan's mouth was agape. "How long has this been here?" he asked. "That's for us to know, and you to never find out," Jewel commented.

Endre and Sarah worked on extending the sleeping space just before night fell.

The following morning, Sabrina handed everyone pumpkin pies for breakfast. "We'll need our strength for the journey ahead," she told everyone. " _But we're just gonna flop right back down and do nothing all over again_ ," Texik muttered. No one heard him but Pickaxe, and the group once again set off on the journey. But for some reason, Madison could have sworn that the group was being followed. She looked behind her just to be safe, but no one was there. Pickaxe noticed to, but no one else seemed to mind.

Of course, things got even weirder when they entered the forest.

At first it was simply a normal stroll. The taiga was an impressive biome with all its lovely spruce trees. Jewel's face looked sadly cute whenever she saw a wolf roaming around. "Cute little doggies…" she'd coo. Eventually, somewhere along the path, the taigas got huge. The group began swiveling their heads in awe and wonder. Eventually, they stopped at one of the huge trees. "Uh, Sabrina," Endre muttered, "We're not at the village yet." "I know," she replied calmly. The group began to get worried. Then they heard the sound of footsteps. They were getting closer and closer, but they couldn't see anything, or anyone. Suddenly, they came to a stop.

A floating milk bucket appeared in their midst.

"Okay, it's official. I've gone crazy," Texik uttered. Everyone else was looking at the bucket bug-eyed. Well, everyone but Sarah. "Oh, boy. Have you guys never seen a potion of invisibility before?" she asked annoyed. The milk bucket began pouring its contents into an invisible void. When it was an empty bucket, the wielder of the bucket turned out to be… the soldier Pickaxe had found during Parker's raid. "What's he doing here?" questioned Madison. "Actually, Vincent here has been following us since we left the village," Sabrina intervened.

"What is going on…" Endre muttered.

Vincent pulled a lever on the tree. The ground opened up beneath the group, swallowing them whole. Vincent flipped the lever back into place as he fell into the hole himself, covering up the fact that anyone had been there. When the group landed, they were on top of a sort of… squishy block layer. _Slime blocks_. _Beats landing on stone…_ , Pickaxe thought, just as Vincent landed on top of him. "GAH!" he yelled in surprise.

Sabrina bounced off the slime blocks, and pulled another lever, revealing a hallway.

"Keep up!" Madison barked at Texik, who was trailing significantly behind. Jewel was busy giving Vincent brief glares. He tried to ignore her, but she just kept doing it… "...what?" he squeaked nervously. "What was Parker doing in the village last night?" Jewel inquired. Vincent heaved out a sigh, "I'd rather not talk about _him_ …" he muttered. Sabrina put her hand on his shoulder. "Go on," she assured, "Maybe you should tell her everything." Sarah groaned, "Not another monologue…" Pickaxe shushed her; he liked the stories.

Vincent cleared his throat.

 _Our house was destroyed by griefers. My wife and my son had been gathering in the forest. I had been busy mining. We were devastated when we arrived at our former home. Luckily, I had a hidden chest stored away, and was able to gather provisions before we searched for a new home. We had to travel through blistering deserts, binding ice plains, and steep hills. Eventually, we came across a village, and we took refuge among their houses. However, that night a zombie siege occurred. We barely escaped with our lives, but this time, our provisions had gone down with the village. We wandered for days, having to hack through monsters and trek through caves just to keep going. I was afraid my family wouldn't make it. But finally, while we were in a mesa, another miner took us in. He gave us food, and a place to sleep. I asked him how I could repay the favor. He told me that he heard there was an expedition group in the Nether, and it was offering valuable rewards to those who participated. He wanted to go himself originally, but decided to take care of my family if I decided to go. "It'll help you get back on your feet," he said. So, I took him up on the offer. He even let me use his Nether portal, which he had hidden in his basement. After a troublesome and deadly experience, I found the expedition's base, and was recruited. If only I had known the leader's true intentions sooner…_

"Ah, we're here," he finished, as the group found themselves in a room.

The room was somewhat bare bones. The walls were solid stone. A fire resting on top of a mysterious block illuminated the center. A double chest sat next to a rather familiar obsidian structure. "A Nether portal?" Pickaxe questioned. Sabrina had that familiar "overexcited Jewel" look on her face. "Sabrina…" Endre worriedly began, "What have you been planning?" "Did you honestly think I was going to send you to another village?" Sabrina asked. "Um, yeah?" interjected Stan.

Sabrina patted Stan on the head. "You don't know your mother!"

Sabrina began digging through the chest, giving the group some necessary materials. She handed Pickaxe cobblestone; "You'll need this to get past the lava." She gave Jewel a diamond sword; "Use this with the iron sword to really rack up some damage!" Madison was given a fishing rod; "This'll come in handy against the _ghasts_ and _blazes_!" She handed Texik a flint and steel, and some TNT; "Fire's abundant in the Nether. Why not take it up another level?" Sarah was handed several _potions of fire resistance_ ; "This will help you cool down against the heat." Finally, she handed Endre a _shield_ ; "Protect yourself, and protect your friends, too." Sabrina stood back, and turned to face Vincent. "Would you like to do the honors?"

He stepped up in front of the portal, and sparked his flint and steel.

The portal's purple hue flashed in front of the group, it's spiraling lights somewhat disarming. It radiated a terrifying aura, suggesting that powers beyond this portal were far greater than any threat the group was yet to face. Jewel shared one final hug with Sabrina and Stan. "Stay safe," Stan told Jewel. "Take care of them," Jewel reminded Vincent. He nodded in understanding. Pickaxe began applying his armor. "Well…" he began, turning to face the rest of the group. "...here goes nothing." Endre finished, grasping his shield tighter. Vincent was the first to go through the portal. Pickaxe was the last. Before he entered, he took on final look at Sabrina. She was giving him a soft smile. "Take care of my Jewel," she told him. He nodded, and finally stepped through the portal.

Sabrina and Stan began making their way back through the corridor.

* * *

It felt as though he was heading toward the grave.

Purple spirals surrounded his vision on all ends. He didn't know whether he was plummeting or skyrocketing through this extra-dimensional fog. Distorted whispers floated in and out of reach. He no longer held the ability to perceive time. He just floated through the gateway. Just as he was about to lose hope of escaping, the area around him dimmed for a moment. Suddenly, he was flung from the fog, and landed on solid ground… flat on his face. He dusted his face off, and began to notice his surroundings.

The Nether was not the kind of place you wanted to visit.

The block he stood on felt like cobblestone, except it wasn't. He was standing on _netherrack_. The landscape ahead was greatly comprised of netherrack, as well as some _magma blocks_ and some _glowstone_ hanging from the roof of the cavern. If it was to be called that… the place was huge! It expanded into a red haze when it was out of his vision. Lava filled craters in the absence of water. He could feel his sweat crawling on his back and evaporating. Wait… sweat...evaporating?

...hOlY nOtCh, ThIs PlAcE wAs HoT!

It felt like the desert had been shoved into a furnace which accidentally fell into lava! He needed water! Luckily, there was a bucket on him, and he quickly poured it out… only for it to evaporate into steam with a _**hiss**_. "Yeah, the Nether's not exactly known for being a place to cool off…" Pickaxe turned to face Vincent and the rest of the group. Except for Vincent, the others also appeared to have tried cooling off with water buckets.

"Shall we get going?" he added.

Truding across the Nether was somehow more demanding than navigating a cave. Other than the already chaotic landscape, the netherrack occasionally combusted into flames out of nowhere. It didn't seem to stop, either. The group came to a stop when they came across a new type of monster. They looked similar to pigs, but more… humanoid. Parts of their skulls, ribs, and bones were exposed, with a green mold-like substance separating bone from flesh. In their hands, they carried golden swords. _Zombie Pigmen_.

"Don't worry," Vincent assured, "They don't attack unless you do…TEXIK!"

Texik was raising an iron sword, about to attack one of the pigmen. He slowly put it back in his inventory, receiving death glares from the rest of the group. Endre looked down at his map. He looked shocked. "Nothing but brown static!?" he gasped. "Oh, right… the Nether can't be navigated by traditional means…" Jewel recalled. "Um…" Madison stuttered, "We have bigger problems. Literally!" They turned towards Madison's direction. There was another monster, only… it was a large cube. A large white cube, with a closed eyes and mouth, and a disturbing amount of tentacles at the bottom.

The group was facing against a _ghast_.

"Run," Vincent commanded. The group began making a mad dash across the netherrack. "Wait, don't step in the-" "YEOWCH!" Endre squealed. To little too late, Vincent had failed to warn him about the magma blocks. As he was running around, trying to brush off the flames, the ghast got close enough for it to reveal its true nature. It opened its blazing red eyes, and shot a fireball out of its mouth. Endre barely dodged, as Texik attempted to shoot it with another glowing arrow. The ghast didn't catch on fire, and it proceeded to shoot Texik with another fireball.

"Nether mobs are immune to fire!" Jewel yelled as the group yet again retreated.

They spent the next few minutes catching their breath, the ghast gone from their field of vision. "Okay," Vincent began, gasping for air, "I recognize this place. We're not too far off from Parker's fort. However, we'll need some time to recollect ourselves. Pickaxe, start handing out the cobblestone. We need to build a hut." Pickaxe laid down the foundation, while Vincent and Endre built the walls and roof. Texik was just about to place a bed, when Jewel pulled him to the side and warned, "Sleep in that bed, and the following explosion will put you to sleep forever…" He decided to not place the bed. When the group had finished, they all took refuge in the cobblestone hut.

They simultaneously collapsed to the floor, exhausted from what they had experienced...


	24. Nether Dead Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4: Reclamation**_

After a few brief moments of leisure, the group heard another fireball explosion.

"And the ghast found us," Sarah muttered, "Of course." Vincent began tearing down the cobblestone walls. "How are we gonna beat that _thing_ anyway!?" Madison inquired. Pickaxe looked at her for a minute. "Didn't Sabrina give you a fishing rod?" The group blinked. Madison face-palmed, pulling out said fishing rod. "We can lure it in, but what happens then?" Endre added. Pickaxe pulled out his pickaxe.

"We kill it without fire…" he stated.

The walls were down now, and the group could see the ghast in all of its deadly glory. It continued shooting fireballs at the group, especially Texik and Endre. "USE THE DARN FISHING ROD ALREADY!" they simultaneously yelled. Madison took a deep breath, then swiveled around, swinging the fishing rod. It latched right onto the ghast's forehead, which it didn't take very well. Madison reeled it in with some minor struggle, as Pickaxe and Jewel readied their weapons.

It died within the first attack.

The group let out a single sigh of relief. Madison was looking amongst the remains. "Gunpowder and a _ghast tear_ …" she whispered, "Seems about right." "Come on, we need to keep going," Vincent urged, walking away from the ghast's death scene. Sarah picked up the ghast tear and gunpowder before continuing onward. "We're just several moments away from their base!" Vincent assured. The vast landscape of flames and death didn't make the trip any easier…

That, and the fact that Texik swatted at a zombie pigman.

"IT'S GONNA KILL ME!" he screeched, dodging the netherrack's flames as he ran away from the now murderous pig. "How much damage can it actually do?" asked Madison. As she said that, Texik made the mistake of running through a horde of zombie pigman. They immediately turned on him, and continued the chase, much to his chagrin. "*Sigh* He'll be the death of us all..." Vincent groaned. Jewel was about to step in and help Texik escape, but Endre stood in front of her.

"I got this," he assured her, pulling out his iron shovel.

He lunged into the mass of zombie pigmen, an act most people would consider to be made by a madman. However, the pigmen seemed to die rather quickly within a few swift strokes of his shovel. "Smite V…" Pickaxe recalled. "Some people get all the luck…" Sarah grumbled, just as Endre finished the last pigman. He looked dizzy. "Too much… rotten flesh…" he choked. It was true. The results of Endre's massacre had left mounds of rotten flesh, _gold nuggets_ , and a few golden ingots.

It took all of Texik's willpower in order to not steal Endre's loot.

As they continued onward, Jewel began to notice some members of the group were starting to trail behind. Well, two in particular. She found Madison holding a ton of buckets and the shore of the lava lake. "What?" she asked, embarrassed that she had been caught doing a rather worrying obsession of hers. "Are you sure you can carry that all the way back home?" Jewel questioned. "If I could use a water bucket, I wouldn't have to…" she whispered in reply. Pickaxe, meanwhile, was busy mining netherrack. "Just because we're experiencing torments beyond our comprehension does not mean I can't get some materials out of it!" he protested. Sarah simply sighed.

"At least it carries an unyielding flame when lit," Vincent quietly added.

After several more paces through the Nether, they came across another lava lake. Vincent looked annoyed. "So they tore down the pathway…" he spat. Pickaxe plucked out his cobblestone. "Now I see why we needed these," he added, beginning to place the cobblestone slowly but surely. The rest of the group followed, helping place cobblestone blocks along the way. "If only I had some _magma cream_ …" Sarah sighed, "Then I could make some potions of fire resistance…"

They reached the shore of the next landmass with a sight that was either really good or really bad omen.

They had found the village's Nether base. Unfortunately, there were several guards at the front, and strange cubes were bouncing around and inside the base, now in ruins. " _Magma cubes_ …" Pickaxe muttered. Texik nodded his head; "Looks like you found your magma cream…" he addressed Sarah. "I can get past the guards easily…" Vincent muttered, "But I don't think I could persuade them to leave…" "What are they doing here, anyway?" Madison interjected, "The place is a mess!"

"Remember the portal?" Jewel reminded.

The group stood in place for several moments. How were they going to get in without the guards noticing. Heck, how were they even going to get rid of them!? … A lightbulb went off in Endre's head. "Do you still have some potions of invisibility on you?" he asked Vincent. He held out his bottle of the liquid. "Okay, I think I have a plan. Jewel, do you think you can act unconscious?" Jewel blinked at his request. "Just trust me. Pickaxe, ready your weapons…"

The guardsmen were shocked to see Vincent carrying a girl on his shoulders.

"Well, well…" one of the guardsmen 'greeted,' "You've been busy." "The boss said you were kidnapped," the other one added, "That, or you ran away." "I had to…" Vincent began, "They would've gotten information from me if I didn't. Besides, I completed the original objective. Shouldn't that be enough for redemption?" The guards paused. One of them took a look at Jewel. "Hmmm… chief's daughter alright," the guard confirmed,"Good work, Vincent. We'll send a message to the boss' base through the _ender chest_. This might earn you a promotion!" "Oh joy…" Vincent replied with a hint of undetectable sarcasm. The guard led him to a safer shack next to the village base, free from the magma cube's influence.

They neglected to notice the floating pickaxe and sword knocking out the other two guards.

Pickaxe dragged the guards behind the tower, while Madison, Sarah, and Texik approached with caution. "You sure this plan is gonna work?" Madison questioned Pickaxe, undetectable by the potion of invisibility except for his weapons. "Endre knows his tactics. I'm sure this'll work," he assured. Texik cautiously opened the door to the base. He motioned for the group to follow.

They were immediately ambushed by the magma cubes.

These things were stronger than slimes. Pickaxe could tell just by looking at them. Their fierce lava eyes and their dark rock-like color made them a rather strange combination of cute and deadly. Sarah didn't seem to mind though. "Give me your magma cream!" she barked, mercilessly slashing at the sentient blocks of lava. Unfortunately, they carried one of the slime's more annoying traits: it's ability to duplicate into smaller versions upon death. "DIE, SILVERFISH WANNABES!" Texik screeched, wield his sword and axe with full fury.

Meanwhile, at the shack next door, everything seemed to be going swimmingly.

The other guards were welcoming Vincent back with open arms. Jewel had been placed in one of the upper floor's rooms. Vincent had been treated to cake and golden apples, and the group was happily chomping on their delightful delicacies. Vincent eventually had to excuse himself for some alone time. He went to a room where one of the guards was using a book and quill. "Not as much of a wimp as we thought, eh?"

Vincent froze; he knew that voice.

"I thought you were back at the base, Krane," he calmly stated. The guard let out a chuckle, "Probably for the best. After you went missing and I saved the boss' butt, he appointed me as head of the guard at this base." He finished writing with his quill, signing his name in the book as the quill vanished. "I wish I was back at the base, but I'm certain Rosetta will take good care of him… congrats on getting the girl by the way," he finished, walking towards a dark chest with a glowing center. "Yeah, about that…" Vincent began, pulling out a shovel.

He swept Krane to the side, picking up the written book. "I had a change of heart."

He grabbed an enchanted pickaxe, using it to break the ender chest. "The village will need this later," he commented. He headed up to the upper floors. He found Jewel, a pile of unconscious guards at her feet. "Too easy," she said, brandishing her diamond and iron swords. "Come on, we need to get to the others," Vincent urged. The duo left the shack, only to nearly get shot with an arrow. Several guards were scattered in all directions, Endre snipping them further apart like a boss. They would never be seen again…

"Bless their souls," Sarah sighed, tossing her newly acquired magma cream.

Pickaxe finally finished rebuilding the original shelter. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, but his arm was also sweaty, so it didn't do much. "Done!" he yelled out to the group through the entrance. Vincent was the first to walk in. "You work fast," he complemented. Pickaxe shrugged. Jewel leaded Vincent to the portal. "You remember the way, right?" Vincent asked, making sure the group wouldn't get lost in the torturous landscape. "Relax," Texik assured, "Our boy Endre has that stuff covered. Go on, man!" Vincent gave an awkward nod, before pulling out his flint and steel. He struck it in the portal's gaping hole, filling it with purple light. He turned to face the group one last time. "Take care," he told them. "Just get that book to the village," Jewel stated. Vincent gave her a nod, and finally stepped through the portal. The purple light enveloped him, and he was gone.

Pickaxe began mining away one of the obsidian blocks, as Jewel and the others prepared for the journey ahead.


	25. Nether Dead Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: All's Smoked And Done**_

With Vincent safely back in the Overworld, the rest of the journey was in the group's hands.

Of course, even though Endre knew the route, he needed some time to "adjust to his surroundings" as he put it. "I nearly died because of a ghast and had to rescue Texik from a swarm of zombie pigmen," he explained, "Even though there's no technical day/night cycle here, I at least need some rest…" "Ditto, buddy," Texik agreed, "I'm so tired, I could just place my bed right in the middle of this landscape and take a breather-" "TEXIK, NO-" Jewel tried to warn. To little too late, Texik flumped into his bed.

On the bright side, the following explosion was quite spectacular.

Pickaxe had occupied himself with collecting the various blocks of the Nether. Other than netherrack, which was quite abundant, he wanted to try and collect other blocks. Naturally, the first thing that caught his eye was the _glowstone_. It clustered at the roof on the Nether, creating downward spikes of the stuff. He immediately began building a dirt tower to where he could mine it. It could substitute for torches one day… After building a small platform, he began mining the glowstone.

Well, _glowstone dust_.

After repeating the process for several of the glowstone spikes, he was in the middle of tearing down one of his dirt pillars, when two blocks from the ground he heard a _slosh_. He froze. Only one kind of Nether mob he had seen made that noise. He slowly snuck over his stub of a pillar, only to get knocked off of it by a certain mob. Pickaxe grunted; those magma cubes weren't joking around! He quickly slayed the magma cube, grabbing its magma cream. That was the perfect time for a fireball to be shot off in the distance.

Pickaxe heard a familiar high pitched screech.

 _Not another ghast…_ , he mentally complained. Sure enough, he turned his head, only to see the ghast and its disturbing red eyes. He was running before THAT fireball made contact. The ghast shot another fireball, much to Pickaxe's irritation. Out of desperation, he swung around to face the ghast, slashing his sword against its fireball. The fireball returned to its sender, promptly burning the ghast to a crisp. A piece of gunpowder and one of its tears was his reward. He walked over to pick it up, when he noticed another peculiar block on the other side of the lava ravine. The blocks surrounding were magma blocks, but it was still a block he hadn't seen before.

 _Nether quartz ore_.

* * *

Sarah had finally scavenged the resources.

Turns out Texik had some blaze rods and nether wart from one of his previous raids. As much as she wanted for Madison to let him have it, she only excused him for one reason: potions. After borrowing some cobblestone from Pickaxe, Sarah eagerly set off to work. A single blaze rod at the top center of the crafting table, plus three cobblestone blocks just below it, and you get… a brewing stand. Her face beamed like the sun on a summer's day.

She placed the cauldron right beside the stand, gathering some bottles as well.

Now it was time to add water. She hesitantly pulled out her water bucket. If she wasn't careful placing it in the cauldron, it would dissipate into nothing. She closed her eyes as the blue liquid slowly sloshed into the cauldron. She sighed from relief. Now for the fun part. She filled three of her bottles with the water, and placed them in the stand. She took one of the blaze rods, and turned it into blaze powder for fuel. Finally, she put a bit of nether wart at the top of the stand.

Within several minutes, she had acquired awkward potion.

She pulled out some magma cream, placing it where the now absent nether wart once was. Soon. the awkward potions would become potions of fire resistance. Finally! She took the potions out of the stand. She should have been making more, but at the time there was a lack of resources. "What to do, what to do…" Sarah muttered to herself. She would show Pickaxe, but he was currently attempting to get some nether quartz. "JEWEL, HELP!" Sarah swiveled her head towards the sound. This couldn't be good.

Endre and Madison _really_ needed to teach Texik a lesson one day.

"Why the heck did you find it necessary to attack another zombie pigmen!?" Madison shrieked. Texik was too busy slashing against golden swords to be listening. "Are you that obsessed with gold?" Endre questioned, "For goodness sake, we're in the Nether!" Sarah and Jewel just stared at each other for the next few minutes. Texik had already caused THIS much trouble? "Do you have any potions?" Jewel asked, "I still have a bit of cobblestone on me." Sarah gave Jewel the fire resistance potions, as Jewel made a small bridge to where she could throw them safely to the group.

* * *

Pickaxe's block collecting adventures were being put on hold… literally.

He was simply mining some more nether quartz ore, when he stepped in something. He tried finding a way to walk against it, but he seemed to be moving slower than usual. That, and he was slowly sinking… He looked down at his feet. He was in some sort of sand, but it was the color of wet dirt. Pickaxe took a closer look. He could've sworn he saw faces in the sand… miserable faces…

He quickly leapt onto another block.

That sand was creepy. He had already found plenty of nether quartz, he even had a few magma blocks. There was no need to continue further, especially if it meant avoiding that weird sand. That weird _soul sand_. He began to make his way out of the crater, when he noticed something to the side. A strange red plant. _Nether wart_. "Wait…" he thought aloud, "Doesn't Sarah use this to make potions?" He looked at the block the nether wart was growing on. It was soul sand.

He dug it up in spite of himself, knowing that Sarah might need the stuff for later.

He was heading back to the base, when he noticed a particular structure in the distance. Pickaxe wanted to assume it was Parker's base, but for some reason this structure didn't seem to be Parker's style. It seemed surprisingly natural. That probably wasn't good, since anything natural in the Nether wasn't exactly friendly. He hoped it he was hallucinating, but even from here, he almost believed he heard a _click-clack_ sound, like a skeleton's bones, as well as a fire ball shot off into an unfortunate ghast. He shivered, which was odd considering the unbearable heat. _Best to leave that for another day_ , he decided.

When he finally arrived at the base, he was shocked to see Madison, Texik, and Endre swimming in lava.


	26. Nether Dead Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Inside Job**_

The time had finally come.

Pickaxe was decked out completely in diamond armor and his pumpkin, his signature pickaxe and sword by his side. His other friends were also decked out in diamond armor, carrying with them some essential tools. Jewel was wielding iron and diamond swords. Madison brandished her iron axes. Texik held a flint and steel and some TNT. Sarah was carrying a golden sword and several splash potions. Endre was at the door, shield and shovel in hand. "Everyone ready?" he asked. The group nodded their heads.

"Let's get going," Pickaxe commanded.

The netherrack was allowing them safe passage, for the time being. Fire combusted at all other ends, and the way they were heading was a bit more chaotic than the rest of the Nether. There were constantly cliffs and pitfalls that would have lead to the group's demise, had they not been careful. Good thing they had gravel on them. The fact that angry magma cubes and ghast also wanted to attack them didn't help either. They seemed to wander for hours. "Are we lost?" complained Texik. Endre scoffed, "We're not lost… it just takes a while…" "Oh, really?" Texik sarcastically added, "I didn't notice!" "Then you might be missing something," Pickaxe interrupted. He stopped walking.

"We're here."

Across another lava lake stood the fortress. Truly, the place WAS a fortress. The walls were comprised of _iron blocks_ and _diamond blocks_. The corners were lined with _quartz blocks_ and _gold blocks_. Towers of cobblestone clashed with the setup, where guards were making sure no trespassers were afoot. Glass blocks made for huge windows. That was the weirdest thing about the place, though: the guards looked different depending on their occupation. Archers at the tops of towers wielded bows, but were clad in leather armor. Gold-clad common guards and scouts wandered about with iron swords. Miners to collect the various resources from the nether wore iron armor with iron pickaxes. Finally, there were the elite guards and captains, clad in diamond armor, wielding shields and swords, if not something else to signify their captain positions.

The group let out a simultaneous _*gulp*_.

"Good thing we came prepared…" Endre sighed. He pulled out several ender pearls. "Only two for each person," he told everyone, "One for the break in, one for the break out. Pickaxe, did you bring the cobblestone?" Pickaxe nodded, pulling out said block. "Before we go," Sarah added, "I suggest you take these…" She handed everyone several potions of regeneration and fire resistance. "I would have made health potions, but all I had to work with were ghast tears, not melons…" she mentioned. "So we split into teams," Texik interjected, "Pickaxe and Jewel, you guys go find Parker. I'd go myself, but I think I'd kill him. Sarah and Endre, sneak around the fortress. See if you can find anything of importance. As for Madison and I, we'll create a distraction." "Are we seriously listening to him?" Madison questioned. Pickaxe shrugged, and rushed down to the shore.

He began creating the cobblestone pathway, the rest of the group closely following.

"Stop!" Endre commanded, halting Pickaxe from continuing any further. "Uh, Endre, we're still not at the fortress…" Madison commented. Endre pulled out his ender pearl. "That's what these are for. Aim for the opening in the wall! It's an abandoned storage area!" The group threw their pearls in the wall's small hole. Within an instant, they were inside the room. "Well that was easy," Texik smugly assured himself. "We're just getting started." Madison grumbled, "Don't get too cocky just yet." Endre was shuffling through the various chests in the room. He began laughing. "Those idiots! They forgot to empty their chests!"  
The group had ditched their diamond armor in favor of disguises.

Pickaxe and Jewel were in golden armor, the armor of common guards. Texik and Madison were wearing the archer's getup. Finally, Sarah and Endre were disguised as harmless miners. Pickaxe looked through the window. While the other guards were in neighboring halls, they weren't going into the groups hall. The guards were all mixed up, too. "The coast is clear," Pickaxe announced, "They won't see us coming." Cautiously, Pickaxe opened the door. The group inconspicuously integrated with the other guards. Eventually, they had to part ways in order to pursue their current goals.

Texik knew just how to start up a motherload of a distraction.

He and Madison joined a group of archers at the tower. Currently, no one at the village was pulling an invasion, so logically their minds were at ease. So much so, the archers spent their time playing sniping games with the far off zombie pigman, and gambling their salaries with the hope of getting some "extra pay." "These guys are even worse than you," Madison snickered. Texik elbowed her in annoyance. The captain of the archers decided to pay them a visit. She didn't seem to pleased with their current activities. "Back to work, you lazy dogs!" she barked, "Or you'll be the 'lucky' few sent to the Nether fortress!" The archers were immediately back in positions with their bows. Even Texik was caught off guard by her commanding aura.

 _Now or never_ , he thought.

He casually walked toward his post like a good soldier, right next to Madison. He gave a little signal with his hands, outlining a bucket. Madison sighed, handing him one of her lava buckets. He looked around him to make sure the other archers weren't paying attention. Without warning, he poured the lava at the towers edge, causing it to cascade onto the tower post and outside the tower. "What in the blazes-!" the captain uttered, shocked, "I demand to know the reason for this muti- GAH!" Madison had shoved her into the lava, as well as the other guards. She and Texik quickly made a run for it.

The archers crawled out of the lava, and began to chase the duo.

Meanwhile, Endre and Sarah were simply pretending to head toward the mines. They were taking the long way. Several miners passed them by, but they seemed a bit… out of place. Some looked scared, others tired, and even others uncertain. _That's odd…_ , thought Endre, _shouldn't they know who they're working for? What they're working for at the least!_ Sarah nudged Endre out of his thoughts. She motioned her head towards a nearby room. There were bookshelves and chests in that room. Endre nodded.

The duo made a beeline for their room, closing the door.

Several various guards were also in that room, but they payed the two no mind, as if guards trickled in and out of the room every day. An anvil was surrounded by the books, and several chests with different signs in front of them. "Looks like instruction manuals," Endre guessed. "But for what?" Sarah inquired. She entered one of the chest, taking out two written books. SHe passed one written book to Endre.

The two opened their books, and began to read.

 _Dearest Soldier,_

 _It is with great pleasure that we welcome you into our cause. With your help, we just might be able to solve the secrets of the universe! For the longest time, we have found ourselves left in the dark with our fate. Night after night, ruthless monsters claw from their caves and shadows, determined to eliminate us. Here, in the Nether, if one dares to enter, we face unspeakable horrors within the flames. Is there anything we can do? Actually, there just might be. In case you didn't know, there is actually a third dimension called 'the End.' Unlike the other two dimensions, you can't craft a portal to get there. The portals to the End are scattered about in various strongholds located in the Overworld, and they require special 'Eyes of Ender' in order to be unlocked. The good news is, we've already located an End portal. What luck! However, to get to it, we must first remove the leader of the village within the area. This leader is the rival of none other than our own glorious leader, Victor. Luckily, we have some intel on the village thanks to one of its former associates, a young man by the name of Parker. You may know him as the commander of our forces, and what a commander he is! Now that you're informed, it would be best advised to do your part to the best of your ability. If we can unlock the End, we can unlock the very secrets of the universe. Sincerely, Rosetta. A Fellow Soldier._

Endre and Sarah closed the book, their faces filled with worry.

Pickaxe and Jewel found that it wasn't easy locating Parker. Within the grand scheme of the fortress, it was easily understandable. After a few wrong turns, and some apologizes to the higher ranking guards, the duo eventually found Parker's study. They slowly snuck in front of the door, peeking inside to get a look. Unlike a majority of the fortress, it was rather humble, comprised of cobblestone and wood, with a netherrack fire place in the center. Parker was also inside, but without his golden armor or sword. His casual wear comprised of black pants, green shoes, and a yellow hoodie with a plain white t-shirt. He was rubbing his chin, as if lost in thought. On the other side of the fire was a girl. She was holding a black skull at her side. Pickaxe grimaced; that skull gave her away as the archer.

Though you'd never guess by her appearance.

She had long red orange hair, tied into two low pigtails that flowed in front of her. Her eyes were a pale green. She looked worried for Parker. Finally, he spoke. "Such a shame we couldn't retrieve the girl." Jewel flinched; just the mention of her name from Parker was enough to make her shiver. The archer looked sad, as if she too were disappointed in their failure. "Apologies, my lord," she began, "We would've succeeded if I had been more vigilant." Parker faced the archer; his expression softened; "My beloved, you were not to blame. If anything, Vincent should have been more vigilant. We were only lucky we had brought Blade and Krane for the operation. Have we heard anything from Krane?" "No, my lord. But it appears so far that the village has made no advances. Blade has yet to run into them either. Speaking of which, he said that the raid on the Nether fortress can proceed as scheduled." "Excellent. We must lay low for now. Bide our time. If we play our cards right, your father will most certainly have his revenge, and we, our reward!" "Yes, my lord." "Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you…" "Hmmm?"

Parker humbly bowed before the girl, presenting her with a gift: an enchanted bow and arrow.

The archer's eyes widened in surprise. "My lord…" she began, but Parker silenced her. "Now, now, you are my beloved. Why wouldn't I get a bow for you?" The archer had no words. She simply embraced Parker in a bear hug. "You're the best!" she squealed, as Parker tried lifting himself up, to no avail. Pickaxe and Jewel had the slight urge to vomit. Luckily, one of the guards was heading toward the study. Pickaxe and Jewel began to run off in another direction, where Pickaxe could only catch the words, "Boss, some renegades are sabotaging us!"

They would need to formulate an escape plan.

Texik started to notice more guards were on their tail. "Word travels quick around here…" Madison grumbled. "Now's probably a good time to escape," Texik added. He pulled out his TNT. He started bouncing off the hall walls, placing the TNT in a near parkour fashion. _What in Notch's name is he doing?_ Madison questioned. When Texik was done bouncing off walls, he placed a final TNT block right in front of him. He then pulled out a bucket of lava. _No, he wouldn't...,_ Madison thought. He placed the lava over the TNT. It traveled a lot faster in the Nether than in the Overworld.

Ssssssssss… BOOM!

Endre and Sarah heard the explosion. It even cut through part of the library! "Guess we're leaving early?" Endre squeaked. In the confusion that followed, Sarah and Endre slipped behind the scenes. Finding the abandoned room wasn't a problem. The problem was the person waiting at the room. They were only a few blocks away, when Endre saw the one thing that could hinder the entire operation. Parker was standing in the front of the door, accompanied by the archer and several guards holding Madison and Texik's arms behind their backs.

"I wouldn't move if I were you…" Parker warned.

Pickaxe and Jewel were about to reach the hallway where the room was. They had found Parker's base, but if only they could get the information to the village. After what they had done against Reed's wishes, a person couldn't exactly hop out of a Nether portal and deliver the information. "Dad might ground me for life before I tell him…" Jewel sighed. No one was at the door. Maybe they were inside? Pickaxe opened the door, but nobody was there. The cobblestone bridge wasn't deconstructed, either. Pickaxe's only warning was Jewel's sudden gasp.

All he saw was the archer, whacking him upside the head with her bow.

Below the beautiful fortress was a dungeon. It was comprised of mossy stone, iron bars and iron doors, and only enough torches and glowstone to keep mobs from spawning. Each member of the group was thrown into a cell, still unconscious. Well, except for one… "The village will have to make a crucial decision," Parker assured the archer. "I'm going to get our 'special guest' ready. Be a dear and keep her companions comfortable, won't you, Rosetta?" The archer bowed to Parker, as he left the dungeon with Jewel in tow.

Rosetta looked at the prisoners with contempt and disgust.


	27. Nether Dead Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7: Rage of A Thousand Miners**_

Jewel woke up from a rather unusual nap.

For a few moments, she forgot where she was, why she was here. She was in a nice room, with light blue carpet, diamond and quartz walls. She was out of her usual clothes and wearing an elegant gold-colored gown. She didn't know whether to be confused or excited. "It looks cute on you." Jewel's head swiveled. There was another girl in the room. She had red orange hair tied in two low pigtails in front of her. She wore a white dress and yellow stockings, as well as a black jacket. Jewel recognized this girl, but from where?

...the memory sunk in like a silverfish in soul sand.

"You…" she whispered, slowly backing into the wall. "Where is Pickaxe?" she demanded, "Where is everybody!?" The girl calmly advanced forward, placing her hand on Jewel's shoulder. Jewel flinched; the hand felt like it had shot many arrows, killed many monsters. More than monsters… "They're alive, that's as much as I'll say," the girl assured Jewel. "But an attempt to escape would be ill-advised." She began to walk out of the room, turning to look at Jewel one last time.

"You really do look nice in that dress. Perfect for Lord Parker…"

* * *

Pickaxe rubbed his aching head.

Even though he was unconscious, the thing that stirred him back to reality was the sound of skin against steel. He slowly opened his eyes to the sight of Texik. He was in the cell next to Pickaxe's, punching against the iron bars in vain. "BREAK...OPEN...YOU...STUPID...TIN-CAN!" he grunted furiously. In the other cells, Endre, Madison, and Sarah looked at Texik in dismay. "Dude," Endre interrupted,"Even if you break one of them, you still have to break the rest…" Texik paused at this for a second, still punching the iron bars. He shrugged it off as though he didn't hear it the first time, and continued punching the bars. He only stopped when a golden sword struck the exterior.

"Well lookie what we have here!" Texik muttered at Parker.

Parker put away the golden sword, examining the prisoners in their helpless state. He looked optimistically disappointed. "Why the long faces?" he questioned, "You are bearing witness to history in the making…" The group continued to grimace. "Well, I tried…" he sighed, "Surely, Jewel is more excited than this. I am. After all…" He pulled out an enchanted diamond pickaxe and an enchanted diamond sword. "I got these out of it." Parker put away his shiny new bling, casually leaving the prisoners as they were.

Pickaxe's fists were clenched so hard, they threatened to bleed.

He punched the wall next to a open window. The group needed to get out of these cells. Pickaxe needed to get his tools back. But how were they going to get out? The prison cell walls, when not made of iron bars, were comprised of netherrack, but even after digging through it, a deadly lava moat surrounded the area. Not the best way a person wants to be remembered in their last moments. Pickaxe began pacing. He pulled out a piece of gravel to fondle with.

…

He still had gravel.

…

What else had Parker forgotten to take?

Pickaxe checked his inventory. As it turns out, Parker forgot to take his gravel, cobblestone, and potion of fire resistance, as well has his pumpkin (his beloved pumpkin!). However, he was smart enough to take away his getaway ender pearl, and his bow. He looked out the window. What would he do if he did get out. All he had other than that was some leftover wood and torches. He heard the one of prison guards coming. He quickly hid his items.

The guard gave them a brief look of indifference before leaving them amongst themselves.

"Head back to the base," Endre whispered. "Try getting help. We'll think of something…" Texik was moving his fingers through his hair; "If I don't kill the little squirt first…" he spat. "Oh, do calm down…" Sarah advised. She and Madison faced Pickaxe. "Go on," Madison urged, "We got your back." Pickaxe looked at all of his friends. All of their faintly hopeful faces…

He wasn't going to let them down.

* * *

Jewel was looking all around the room, seeing no way out.

What was Parker up to this time? The occasional gifts and the magnificent builds were offset enough back at the village, but now this!? She had established several times that she and Parker were simply friends. Friends! She didn't know what to think of him now. Through the glass windows and roof in her "quarters," Jewel could see Parker showing something off to the archer from earlier. Something familiar… an enchanted diamond pickaxe… Hold on…

That was Pickaxe's pickaxe!

How did Parker get it? He didn't… no, he wouldn't… The archer seemed to have a similar reaction, leaving Parker to shake his hands in a "No no no" fasion. So he hadn't killed Pickaxe… yet. The archer's face looked relieved. She began saying something to Parker, before briefly glancing at Jewel's "quarters" and returning to her initial speech. Jewel looked at the ground in frustration. She HATED being used as leverage, especially against her family and friends. Unfortunately, that was the only option, seeing as Parker had taken all her items. _The conniving little_ … Her thoughts stopped as a guard opened the door.

The main event would get underway, soon. She was being transferred somewhere else instead of her cell.

The guard kept his eye on her, though the slightest twinge of sympathy showed on his face. Eventually, they arrived at a second room. "The boss said you needed to stay here for your iwn safety," he finally stated, "He'll check up on you soon." Jewel's face was downcast again. She didn't want to have anything to do with Parker at this point. The guard looked uneasy. He was about to leave in the room, when he scanned the hallways to make sure no one was around. He turned to face Jewel. He tossed her diamond and iron swords at her feet. Jewel was stunned. She slowly picked them up. "Wha-?" she began to say. The guard clasped his hand over her mouth. He looked panicky.

"Not a word, my lady," he said sternly,"Trust me when I say help is on the way. Don't do anything brash, and you will escape this burden."

* * *

"Please… don't go…"

Pickaxe turned to face the voice. It was the prisoner in the neighboring cell. A girl. She wore a torn white dress and green sandals. Her hair was thick and blond, but tattered over a face that only held faint remains of beauty. Her eyes were a dull but piercing diamond color, similar to Jewel's right eye. She looked at Pickaxe with a pleading face. Her eyes were filled with fear and horror.

"Please…" she repeated,"Don't go…"

"I have to," Pickaxe replied. He punched a hole through the wall big enough for him to walk through. "No...please…" she faintly argued. She sounded like she wanted to yell, but didn't have the strength to. Pickaxe found it hard to leave her in this condition. He searched through his inventory and, conveniently, found a loaf of bread. He tossed it through the iron bars toward the prisoner. She looked at it for a while, before slowly reaching out to grab it. As she was nibbling on it rather pitifully, Pickaxe dared to ask her, "Why don't you want me to go?" The prisoner turned to face him, her eyes filled with worry.

"Parker… he'll find you… torture you…"

"He doesn't scare me," Pickaxe responded. That much was true. If anything, all Parker did was make Pickaxe want to drown him in lava. He'd gone this far in making sure he kidnapped Jewel. He had stolen their materials to rub salt in the wound. No, Parker didn't scare Pickaxe… he just ticked him off. "Besides, he won't catch me," he continued. "No," the prisoner argued, "Parker WILL find you. Parker WILL torture you. No matter how far you get… he always gets his way…" She seemed to have lost any sanity she once previously had. "Why does he of all people scare you?" Texik demanded. The prisoner turned to face him, with an expression both distant and frightening. "He did it to me…" she choked, on the brink of tears,"His own mother…"

The guards chose this moment to walk past Pickaxe's cell.

Everyone froze. Pickaxe couldn't build a bridge fast enough before they'd catch him. One of the guards let out a sigh, grabbing a lever and an axe. _Crud_ , thought Pickaxe. They were going to kill him. The guard placed the lever next to the iron door. Pickaxe's cell opened. _Well, now or never_ , decided Pickaxe, looking over at his hole in the wall. Before he jumped, he caught a flash of something in Texik's hand...something red.

"HIT THE DECK!" was all Pickaxe heard as he leapt from the explosion.

It was a long fall to the bottom, which gave Pickaxe plenty of time to consume his fire resistance potion. When he hit the lava, he didn't feel the heat. He couldn't take any chances; he needed to get back to the base. He swam in the lava for what seemed like an eternity. Of course, it didn't help that an arrow landed right before he was about to make it to shore. He pulled himself out of the lava and darted across the chaotic landscape. He found some refuge behind a nether quartz ore wall. He needed some form of defense.

He began to assemble a crafting table.

* * *

Jewel was silent in her new cell.

That miner… why had he done what he did? He had somehow talked his way into getting Jewel's weapons, only to give them back to her. What was the meaning of it? His words still echoed in her head: _Don't do anything brash, and you will escape this burden_. What had he meant by that? Was he a rogue? Did he simply want to lead Jewel to a more torturous location? Notch forbid!

...was he from the village?

Jewel's train of thought was constantly interrupted by the ruckus outside. Out of annoyance, she decided to take a look outside the cell, which was conveniently located near the dungeon. There was a gaping hole in the wall. She saw several guards chasing someone in the distance. A fight was occurring inside the dungeons. _What the heck?_ , was the only thing she could think about the entire scene. How in anyone's right mind did this escape plan come about? Unexpectedly, the answer came to mind: her friends.

The door to the cell slammed open. The archer was decked out in leather armor.

"We need to go," she commanded, grabbing Jewel's arm without waiting for a response. There wasn't much Jewel could do about it; this girl was strong. They navigated the corridors with unprecedented speed. Within a moment's notice, they were outside the fortress. "Ummm, where are we going?" Jewel question. The archer didn't even glance at her when she replied, "A nearby safehouse. We can't let the prisoners take you." Jewel grimaced. Of course Parker wouldn't let her be close to anyone he said couldn't be. He always wanted her for himself…

A high-pitched screech filled the air.

The archer and Jewel dared to turn back, seeing the very thing they both feared was after them: a ghast. It shot a fireball towards the two. The archer grasped Jewel and pulled her out of the way of the explosion. She lead her to the inside of the safehouse, shutting the door. Jewel could only peek through the iron bars as the archer began to slay the ghast. How did she have experience with this kind of thing? Jewel didn't think she wanted to know.

Eventually, the ghast was finished off. The archer kept Jewel company for the next few moments.

* * *

A stone sword and a new shield.

Thank goodness Parker forgot to take that one iron ingot! Pickaxe strapped on his new gear, as well as his pumpkin. He would need it for the battle. He took a look past his rock to see what the guards were doing. They were still firing arrows, hoping to snipe him into the open. _Now's the time_ , Pickaxe decided. He took a breath, and ran out into the open.

The chase was on.

The guards had tried to keep up with Pickaxe, but each of their arrows were blocked by his shield. If one got to close, he swatted them away with his sword. The occasional ghasts and zombie pigman helped out too. He ran for blocks upon blocks upon blocks. The nooks and crannies of the place were a bit difficult, but still possible to traverse. After a long time of running, Pickaxe saw the base in the distance. YES! But he still had the guards to take care of...

"Might as well," he thought aloud, turning to his opposition.

The shield was one of the most effective tools he ever wielded in Minecraft, save the pickaxe, of course. He kept bringing it up to avoid arrows in the face, all while swatting the unlucky with his stone sword. But he couldn't keep this up forever. Stone wasn't as sturdy as diamond. The village mattered more than these guards. After one last brushing away, he made a mad dash to the base. He hurriedly took out the flint and steel from the chest, and struck it against the portal.

Without thinking twice, he threw himself into the vortex.

…

Darkness covered the land on all sides. Pickaxe could only barely make out the faint shapes of the village buildings. Thank heavens he was in a mushroom island biome, or things could've been worse. He began making his way through the village when, to his chagrin, he heard something slip through. He sighed, and turned to face the guards once again. He wasn't so lucky this time. His sword wasn't hitting its marks. The shield wasn't defending as well. He wondered why-... _weakness_. One of the guards had hit him with a splash potion of weakness. He had no buckets of milk on him. All he could do was take blow after blow, slash after slash. Nothing would save him now…

...except for a certain wooden shovel, of course.

* * *

After several moments, Jewel and the archer, who Jewel figured out was named Rosetta, left the safe house to return to the base. They went through the gates, but didn't return to her previous cell. "Lord Parker wishes to speak to you," was all Rosetta had said. While Jewel resented the idea of even looking at Parker, it was still a better alternative compared to looking at a ghast… right? The two continued until they reached a very special-looking room. Rosetta opened the door for Jewel, as the two stepped inside the magnificent chamber.

At least, it was magnificent until Parker had showed up.

He was in his casual attire. He held Pickaxe's weapons by his side nonchalantly. He seemed to be in a good mood. Ironically, not a good sign. "Ah, Jewel, glad you could join us!" he greeted, looking extremely humble to boot. Jewel didn't know how to respond. "Oh, come now, why don't you have a seat?" Parker asked, showing some comfy wool blocks to sit on. While hesitant at first, Jewel ultimately complied to sit on the blocks. Unfortunately, they were a bit too comfy.

"Now then," Parker continued, "Why don't we get down to business?"

Parker clapped his hands, and Jewel's friends were brought forth. Jewel gasped. Madison and Sarah had been relieved of their inventories. Endre looked looked like he had been in a cage match and lost...badly. All Texik had to sport was some burns and charred clothing, as well as an absolutely MURDEROUS look. Parker seemed pleased with himself. "These miners have been quite the thorn in our sides for some time now…" he began. "Why not make sure they're… taken care of?"

Against her will, Jewel was forced to accompany her friends to their execution.

Only she would be alive after everything. She had no doubt that Parker planned to use her as leverage against her father. Still, there was one thing about this that seemed a bit… off. Pickaxe wasn't with them. She already knew Parker hadn't killed him, because everytime he looked at one of his weapons, his face became the slightest bit annoyed. She remembered earlier events, back at the dungeon. Had he been the one the guards were chasing? Speaking of guards…

The guard from earlier was looking straight at her.

He did a gesture that said "Wait." She wished she could do anything but wait.,But she had to trust him; he was their ticket out. She had her weapons. They just needed the right moment to strike. The guard made signal faces to the other guards. Were they all in on this? Eventually, the group made it to a room. It was comprised entirely of obsidian. "Perimeter check," Rosetta commanded the guards, as they went inside, checking to see if everything was in order. Jewel hoped they would somehow find a way to get them all out alive. She caught Rosetta about to pull a lever. There was a sign next to it that said "Terminate."

The room filled to the brim with lava.

The group screamed in horror. Parker and Rosetta looked at them with indifference. After some time, Rosetta flipped the switch again, finding the traitorous guards still burning. Slowly, one after another, each of them died the terrible death by fire. The last one standing was the guard that helped Jewel. He looked as though he was solely alive thanks to his unyielding determination. "Do you truly think I am a fool?" Rosetta questioned, slapping the guard in the face. "Your cause is in vain. This war is ours to win." The guard didn't seem concerned, even though he was quite literally burning to death. "In vain…?" he managed to choke, "I wouldn't be so harsh. Especially considering the boy made it... alive…" Rosetta smacked him again, and the guard didn't respond. He vanished in a puff of smoke.

At the same time, an explosion took out part of the wall.

* * *

Rosetta covered Parker to nullify the damage, while the rest of the group was flung backward. Parker slowly inched toward the edge of the wall. He couldn't believe his eyes. TNT cannons with now empty amo stood towards the front of the invasion. Miners wielding weapons of all materials and forms stood in the force, from swords to axes to bows and shields. Some rode horses or pigs, others were on foot. But the most offsetting part? In front of it all, standing next to Sabrina, Reed, and Stan, was a miner with a pumpkin on his head.

Pickaxe's friends sighed from relief. He had come through.

"CHARGEEEEEE!" he cried, the entire village following behind him. They moved as one, preparing to scale the entrance. Some of the faster miners began building a cobblestone bridgeway. Others simply used bows and arrows to start the fight, while the more impatient used ender pearls to warp onto the base. But Pickaxe? He threw an ender pearl while he was still running with the force of a raging bull. Parker and the others eyed the pearl in curiosity. Where was it going to land? Just before the pearl made contact, Pickaxe jumped in the air, pulled back his fists…

...and sucker punched Parker right between the eyes.

Parker stumbled back, dropping Pickaxe's pickaxe and sword. Pickaxe casually walked past Parker, picking up his once lost items. He turned to face his friends. "You guys okay?" he asked. They all nodded. "Good," he continued, "Because I'm pretty sure we're in hot water getting back to the village…" "Of course…" Jewel sighed. "Eh, what's the worse Reed can do?" Texik added. He began looking around. "Wait, where's the archer?"

Pickaxe's sword was replaced by a shield, which blocked Rosetta's tipped arrows.

"Nice try," he commented. "Silence, you filthy swine!" Rosetta yelled at Pickaxe, putting on her wither skull and brandishing a stone axe. She lunged for Pickaxe, but was stopped by Jewel, who intervened at the last minute. "Oh, no you don't!" she defied. Meanwhile, Parker tried doing the same thing, only to be met with Endre's shovel and stone sword. "Not gonna happen!" he grunted, pushing Parker back. Pickaxe looked down the hallway. "I gotta do something! Keep them busy!" he yelled at the group. He began running down the corridor, Texik following.

They were back in the dungeon, in front of a very familiar cell.

The prisoner was sleeping, curled up in a ball. "She must be exhausted…" Texik whispered, somehow showing sympathy for the poor woman. Pickaxe broke down the iron door. The prisoner slowly shifted back into consciousness, albeit barely. "You're...alive…" she moaned, still without strength. "Yeah," Pickaxe confirmed, "Just relax, we're going to get you out of here." "Out?" the prisoner inquired, her face filled with surprise. "How? Fortress… impenetrable…" "Not so much so now," Texik replied. The prisoner looked conflicted, "But… Parker...find us?" "No," Pickaxe answered, "Not while I'm around." The prisoner let out a weak laugh. "So long...I...had no...hope. So long… after I lost… him. And then… Parker…" She drew close to Pickaxe, her consciousness starting to fade back into sleep. "Thank…you…" she began,"For giving me...hope…"

The prisoner drifted back into sleep, as Texik carried her on his shoulders.

Things were going in the village's favor. A majority of the guards had been slain on the spot. Jewel and Endre were holding their own against their opponents. Out of nowhere, two arrows shot them out of position. The group looked down to see Pickaxe wielding a bow with Texik and… someone else in tow. They all met up at the edge of the fortress. "Is that…?" Jewel questioned. "Yup. It's Parker's mother," Endre confirmed, "When we first saw her, I could barely recognize-" "KYAAAA!" The group turned around. Parker was back, his face that of a mad man's, in his hands a golden pickaxe.

Pickaxe slashed Parker's pickaxe out of his hands.

"NOOO!" he barked, trying to punch Pickaxe, but he simply grabbed it and tossed it aside. Parker slowly began to back up. "Fools...all of you… you have no idea what you've done. This is only the beginning. I will win this war… the village will be mine… THE WORLD WILL BE MINE! MY WORLD AND MINE, ALONE!" "Your world?" Pickaxe asked dumbfounded. He faced Parker with subtle fury. "This isn't your world… THIS. IS. MINECRAFT!" He pulled back his pickaxe and slashed it full force against Parker, knocking him into his own lava moat. The group watched as he fell to his supposed demise. "It's a shame he's probably still alive…" Sarah murmured. The others agreed wholeheartedly.

The walked away from the fortress and the battlefield, making their way back home with the other miners… for better or worse.


	28. Nether Dead Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8: Unjust Desserts**_

Texik was eating his words when the group returned to the village.

Good news: Reed _technically_ wasn't mad. He actually expected that Jewel would've found someway or another to get to the Nether. He was just glad she was safe. However, she DID get kidnapped by Parker, the very thing he tried to prevent. He figured sending her to another village would do nothing. Instead, he put the group under a rather painful house arrest. While night was about, he had some miners take away their inventories, put them in an obsidian chamber which could only be accessed through an iron trapdoor, and gave them a curfew until further notice.

He wasn't mad...he was just very disappointed.

Pickaxe was slumped against his mushroom house. No pickaxe...no sword...no pumpkin… It was dull. He felt like when he first showed up in the world. _Ah, simpler days…_ , he thought to himself. If he wanted to craft something, he could craft it, but somehow Reed banned that, too. Pickaxe wished Reed was a bit more lenient in this situation. They were still alive! But that seemed insignificant. If only there was something he could do…

 _Well_ , he recalled, _there is one thing…_

Endre was at Parker's former house, helping his Parker's mother organize a few things. Well, more like he was organizing the house while the woman slept. That was all she did after they got back from the Nether. Kind of worrying, honestly. He was in the middle of moving the food stuffs from the storage room to the kitchen. _Maybe I should bring Margret something_ , he thought, thinking about Parker's mother.

Milk and cookies sounded pretty good.

He walked up the steps to Margret's room. He opened the door, seeing her sleeping in her white bed. She looked so peaceful, too, sleeping among her bookshelves. She did a bit of reading in her spare time, before… she had gone missing. Endre shivered. Had she been in that dungeon the whole time? Had Parker tortured her for that long!? It was only a day or two after Jewel went missing. How could Parker have done such an underhanded lowlife-!?

Margret let out a small snore. Endre took a few breaths.

He couldn't be upset now. While he and his friends could do nothing against Parker upfront, Reed had assured them that he and his men would put a stop to him. Endre hoped so. The might have dealt a huge blow to their operation, but Parker could still be out there. Sarah had said so herself. He sighed, walking over to Margret's bed. He slowly shook her from her slumber, whispering "Wake up, sleepy head…"

Margret's eyes slowly opened, lighting up upon seeing Endre's face. "Good morning," she replied.

Jewel had gone to the library, showing how utterly bored she was. What she didn't expect to see was Pickaxe, reading through the books. He and Stan were conversing about a particular book. Jewel walked up to them, curious. She managed to get a look at the book: _The History of Minecraft_. She rolled her eyes. "Stan, you are way to into that book…" she sighed. Stan blinked, before defending, "Well, is it my fault it's such a glorious work of art?" Pickaxe shrugged, adding, "It isn't that bad."

Jewel facepalmed, as Stan's eyes began sparkling like diamonds.

"Really?" he squeaked, getting giddier by the second. "What's your favorite part? The Great Emergence, The Dimensional Formation, The First Dragon Slaying, The First Wither Summoning, The Wither Storm Arc…" Stan kept on rambling event after event in the book. When he finished, Pickaxe flatly stated, "No," to all of them. Stan's face sunk. Pickaxe flipped to the proper page in the book. He cleared his throat. "*Ahem*..."

 _Spawns and Breeds_

 _When the world first came to be after The Great Emergence, there were only four "spawn" miners in the first world. After these miners established multiple worlds during The Dimension Formation, more spawns began to appear throughout these worlds. We still do not understand how these spawns came into existence, but the head of the first four spawns, Notch, has told us that "they were created when the universe saw fit." As time continued its course, male and female spawns were attracted to one another, eventually resulting in marriage. Then, they bore children; the first "breed" miners were brought into the world. There is nothing that differentiates a spawn from a breed in terms of speed, stamina, and strength, except for the way the are brought into the world. Despite this, throughout history, spawns and breeds have occasionally shown hostility towards one another, though thankfully, it never escalated into fights or full-fledged war. Later on, these occasional hostile shifts would dissipate, and all miners would live in harmony amongst the cruelty of our world. However, at one point in time, a few centuries ago, spawns became less and less common. Notch addressed the issue, stating, "The universe, at this point, has decided to halt the creation of spawns. It sees no further reason to create new spawns when the worlds are quite populous…" Since then, to this day, no one has seen or heard about new spawns. Spawns that existed before the occurrence have also become progressively rare._

Pickaxe closed the book, as he and Stan looked at Jewel, sleeping on the floor.

Texik was helping Sabrina and Reed move the livestock to another pen. Carrying wheat and a carrot in both hands definitely wasn't something he thought he'd be doing in life. Then again, the whole reason he was in this mess was because he had griefed the right people. Life was funny that way. He sighed, as he herded all the cows, mushrooms, sheep, and pigs into the pen. He was about to leave, but then Reed cleared his throat.

Reed held his hand out, and Texik reluctantly placed the vegetation in it.

He REALLY wished he didn't jinx himself back in the Nether. Maybe, just maybe, if he had just shut his trap, the whole group wouldn't be in this mess. He wandered around for a while, before accidentally bumping into a miner. Madison, to be exact. They both briefly stumbled before recollecting themselves. Texik received a glare from Madison; "Do you have anything else to do!?" she questioned furiously. "No, not really…" Texik retorted rather smugly.

He recieved to blows to the head for his smugness.

While Texik and Madison were bickering, Endre was helping Margret out of the house. She relished in the gentle breeze that flowed across the island. The Nether wasn't known for such freshness, for obvious reasons. "I really appreciate this," she told Endre, "After all that Parker did to you and your friends, I'm genuinely surprised you came back for me." "Why wouldn't we? You're not even remotely like Parker…" Endre assured. In spite of herself, Margret let out a little laugh. "Well...I suppose he is a more… exaggerated version of his father. Hm?" she replied, noticing Texik and Madison.

"Oh boy…" Endre complained, "This is getting to be too much."

Margret looked at the two bickering miners. She also noticed how in the distance, Pickaxe was somehow sitting on top of his mushroom house. How Stan and Jewel were helping their parents. How Sarah wrote with a book and quill in front of the library. All these miners… they had potential. They could overthrow her son and his tyranny, maybe save the village. Then again, they'd still have to defeat Victor somehow. That'd have to come later. For now, they'd need to prepare, without Reed intervening.

She nudged Endre, who flinched in surprise.

She slipped 32 emeralds in his hands, as well as some stone, pistons, redstone, and sticks. "That's all I can give without raising too much suspicion," she explained, "but I think you know what needs to be done." She pointed over to a small hill in the distance. Then she pointed to the village. "Use your emeralds wisely," she advised. Endre just stood there for a little while, his eyes bulging from his skull. He embraced Margret in a bear hug.

 _Praise Notch for his mercy…_ , he thought.

He quickly went into the village, trading with the local toolsmith and priest (though they prefered to be called clerics) for an iron shovel and an iron pickaxe, as well as some additional redstone and glowstone. On his way back, he noticed Sarah was still writing in her book and quill in front of the library. He patted her on the shoulder, showing her his tools. She was about to say something, but Endre swished his hand in front of his neck, saying she needed to keep quiet. He motioned toward the small hill, handing her the shovel.

The duo was at work for several moments.

When they were finished hollowing out the hill, Endre set to work on preparing the redstone circuit, while Sarah went to Margret for more supplies. By the time Endre finished setting the circuit and began to camouflage the base, Sarah came back with some interior items. Specifically, some wood planks, some bookshelves, an enchantment table, a brewing stand, and a cauldron. When they were finished, it looked as though the hill had only been slightly altered. Hopefully, the single block of cobblestone they used as a marker wouldn't be too much of a give away.

They would just have to wait and see for tomorrow.


	29. Nether Dead Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9: Leveling Up**_

Someone had snuck into Pickaxe's mushroom.

He didn't know who, but someone had to have left him the written book in his chest. It said to "meet at the hill on the outskirts on the village. You'll recognized it by the single block of cobblestone in the ground." Pretty suspicious to Pickaxe, but he decided to take a look, seeing as nothing too important would be happening in the village. He descended down the ladder onto the ground. After a brief walk, he discovered the hill in question. What was he supposed to do?

Margret appeared from behind the hill.

"Mornin'," she greeted, "I see you got my note." "Hm?" questioned Pickaxe. Why did she send him the note? She was holding something in her hands… a stone pressure plate. She placed it on the cobblestone block. "After you!" she insisted. Pickaxe, not wanting to be rude, stepped on the pressure plate. He didn't know how, but he somehow heard the sound of redstone flickering beneath the floor. The two dirt blocks in front of him shifted to the side, revealing a secret chamber.

All of Pickaxe's friends waved from the inside.

"Go on," Margret assured, "I'll make sure Reed isn't too suspicious." Somewhat awkwardly, Pickaxe entered the chamber. "Have fun!" Margret exclaimed, picking up the pressure plate and heading back to the village before the door shut. Pickaxe got a good look at the room he was in. It was a decently sized room, with some brewing and enchanting materials organized throughout the place. There was also an _item frame_ with a clock in it. Smart move since the room didn't have windows.

"Well, then," Sarah began, "Let's get started…"

First order of business: potions. Sarah led the group to several brewing stands she managed to put together. She handed everyone several glass bottles, water buckets, nether wart, blaze powder, and other various necessities for potion making. The group was left to themselves. Pickaxe was intrigued; he had never made potions before. He looked over to the cauldron in the corner of the room. Logically, that was only there for one single purpose.

He poured one of his water buckets into the cauldron, and got three water bottles afterward.

He made his way back to the stand, taking out the blaze powder and nether wart. He placed the bottles at the bottom and the nether wart at the top, as well as putting the blaze powder into the stand in order to fuel it. He waited several moments, before the water in the bottles suddenly gained a weird glow. _Awkward potion_. Well, that was step one. What was the next ingredient?

His eyes focused on the watermelons and gold nuggets he had been given.

After surrounding the watermelon with 8 gold nuggets, Pickaxe had created a _glistering melon_. He placed it at the top of the stand, as it simmered into the potions. The potion had gone from a glowing blue to a vibrant red; _potion of healing_. But it didn't seem like the effect was strong enough. It needed a bit more… kick.

A bit of glowstone fixed the problem.

Pickaxe proceeded to concoct more potions. After having created _Potions of Healing II_ , he found himself amongst his other ingredients. He knew quite well they would be heading back to the Nether sooner or later, so he used some of the magma cream to create some potions of fire resistance. He figured out that by using redstone, he could extend the effect, and ultimately decided to do so. He made several more potions, including night vision, leaping, and regeneration.

All the while, Texik was stumped as to why all he had was mudane, thick, or weakness potions, while Pickaxe made a potion of strength.

As the day was drawing to a close, Pickaxe had finished converting his potions of invisibility, harming, and poison into splash potions using gunpowder. All the miners looked at the clock, to see that the sun was starting to set on it. "That's enough work for today," Sarah assured, "We'll learn enchanting later." The group put away their potions in the chests, just as Margret opened the secret passageway. "Good day today?" she asked.

The group headed home more satisfied than they had ever been.

* * *

A few days later, Pickaxe was back at the entrance.

He tried to come back here the day after the brewing session, but no one was there. He confronted Margret, but she just told him that Jewel couldn't make it. When he asked Stan about the manner, he just said, "Dad suspected something… probably nothing too serious." Riiiiight… Everybody know potion making isn't too serious… Well, today, Jewel had been released from her "probation," and had taken the opportunity to return to the secret room.

Now they would learn enchanting.

Since the group's tools were located in an obsidian chamber, Margret had to give Sarah additional supplies. The group didn't know where the potions were in the first place, so it was probably for the best. It kind of depressed Pickaxe in all honesty. His diamond pickaxe, lost to who knows where. Hopefully, he'd get it back later. Once Madison distributed the tools, the miners were off to the various enchanting and crafting tables. Pickaxe knew what to do.

He took out a ton of leather and sugar cane to make the books.

Within several minutes, Pickaxe had a full stack of books. He approached the enchantment table, the contents of its pages begging to be unleashed. He took out some lapis lazuli, and sprinkled both it and the books into the enchantment table, swallowing them in a low key light. The light suddenly spreaded all around him, or so it seemed, as it encompassed him on all sides, surrounding him with a wide variety of options.

Back in reality, Pickaxe was merely hallucinating, as the other miners were looking at him with amusement.

After his brief trance, Pickaxe returned to the crafting table to create some items. He crafted a red-dyed leather cap, diamond leggings, diamond boots, a bow, a shield, a diamond sword, and a diamond pickaxe, of course. He got a chainmail chestplate from Sarah. He approached the anvil, and skimmed through his books. Time to start combining…

When Pickaxe was finished, he was officially a force to be reckoned with.

In spite of the fact that he had a red leather cap, that cap had blast protection II, mending I, aqua affinity I, and respiration I. The chainmail chestplate received protection II, thorns II, and mending I. The diamond leggings received projectile protection IV. The diamond boots recieved frost walker I, feather falling IV, and fire protection II. His sword had sweeping edge III, sharpness IV, and looting III. The bow had power V, punch I, and infinity. His shield had unbreaking III and mending I. His pickaxe had efficiency V, and fortune III, and (don't ask how) sharpness V and knockback II.

Sarah was going to be jealous for days…

* * *

Parker's abandoned fortress had holes and cracks every which way. Magma cubes and zombie pigman overran the place, with a ghast or two hovering overhead. Several blocks away from that was another fortress, but this one took no chances. It was entirely comprised of obsidian and diamond blocks. Within the fortress, Parker and Rosetta were in a room similar to Parker's original quarters, with Blade guarding the door. In front of a fireplace, another miner was with them, though he was a silhouette from any position.

He was breathing heavy, obviously an observer of disappointment.

He turned his head slightly towards the two other miners, his face downcast. "Are the plans ready?" he asked the two. Parker answered without hesitation, "Yes, sir. Our spies are within the village to make sure everything goes as planned." The miner turned to face him, his body still a silhouette. "Good. I don't want another hiccup like… last time," he grunted. Parker went a bit red from embarrassment. "Rest assured, we won't fail again…" Rosetta interjected. The figure walked up to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know you won't," he assured. "Now go get ready," he commanded. Rosetta obeyed, leaving the room. Before Parker could follow in her suit, the figure pulled him back. "Protect my daughter," he told Parker, "I'm counting on you to make this operation worth it."

Parker nodded, and departed the miner's presence.


	30. Nether Dead Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10: Uprising**_

Pickaxe slowly opened his eyes to the sunlight shining through his window.

He let out a yawn, stretching his arms. He slowly rose from his bedside, and looked throughout the village. _Same as usual_ , he thought. It didn't look as though anything would be happening today. Still, it wouldn't hurt to take some items. He grabbed his set of mismatch armor, shield, bow with arrows, sword, potions, and pickaxe, making sure not to hold any of them in his hand. "Time to greet the day," he said to himself.

He once again descended the ladder from his mushroom house.

The village went about its usual routine. In spite of recent events, several miners were traveling through the Nether portal in the center of town. Lucky ducks… He continued onward, holding himself back from rushing through the portal. That would look _pretty_ bad on his part. Other miners were crafting resources, constructing the village, or improving upon previous builds. He was lucky that the group was meeting at the library today. Margret had something to discuss.

Speaking of which, Pickaxe saw her heading towards the library herself.

He was about to call out "Hi," but something stopped him. As soon as she reached the corner just before the library, something grabbed her and pulled her in another direction. Pickaxe darted his head. No one else had taken notice. Without hesitation, he quickly pursued Margret in the direction she had been taken. He only saw last minute glimpses of her, as her captors took her through vacant areas in the village. Finally, they stopped at an alley, and Pickaxe got a good look.

Ironically, the trio were dressed to not be seen.

They were all wearing black leather armor, carrying stone swords. Their faces were masked by black skeleton skulls, with Margret cowering between all of them. Pickaxe drank a potion of invisibility, and slowly advanced at the scene. "W-w-who are you?" Margret whimpered, "W-what do you want?" One of the guards stepped toward Margret. "Nothin' much," he replied unconcernedly, "The boss is planning to tear this village to the ground. Gave us orders to make sure you and another miner were out of the village before then." Pickaxe froze; Parker was planning to destroy the village? And kidnap Jewel and Margret to!? He continued to advance, trying to contain his fury.

"N-no," Margret defied, speaking up a little louder, "Stay away! I'm not going ba-"

The miner put the sword up to her neck, pinning her to the wall. "You don't have a choice," he stated flatly, "The boss doesn't care about whether or not you want to go. He said it was a non negotiable order." He put his face closer to Margret's, who was nearly on the brink of crying. "He will tear this village down, block by block. But… he did say if you refused, we could cause a little _carnage_ before then…" A single tear streamed down Margret's face. "So, missy," the miner continued, "what's it gonna be?"

The other two miners suddenly howled in pain.

The first miner turned around, stunned to see that both of his comrades were impaled with arrows. They fell to the ground, disappearing in puffs of smoke. Without warning, another arrow struck him down as well, killing him along with his fellow miners. Margret just stood there, paralyzed with fear. She saw a floating enchanted bow in front of her, as though it was being carried… "You okay?" said a voice. Margret nearly jumped. That voice… it belonged to Pickaxe! As if to confirm her suspicions, Pickaxe's invisibility potion wore off, revealing himself. Magret immediately ran towards him, tackling him with a bear hug.

The hug was eventually ended with a grave reminder; "We need to tell the others."

Pickaxe and Margret raced back to the library, where the rest of the group was already waiting, including… Jewel!? "How are you-?" Pickaxe tried to ask, only to fail because he couldn't process the scenario in front of him. Jewel had a grimace on her face. "Some thugs in black leather armor tried to kindnap me," she explained, "but…" She placed an iron sword on the table. "...they weren't exactly the best at fighting."

Well, that predicament was sorted out.

After everyone had settled down at the library table, it took Margret sometime to collect herself. "There's something you should know," she began, her shakiness still subsiding. "After what happened this morning, I know more now than ever you need to hear this," she continued, the rest of the group leaning in in anticipation. _I'm really going to do this_ , she thought to herself. She took a deep breath before exhaling.

It was about time the group learned about Victor.

 _When Reed left the city of Mojang, a small group of miners accompanied him, including me, Parker's father, Endre's parents, Sabrina, a few others, and a man named Victor. Victor and Reed were good friends, and always looked out for each other. One night, while we were staying close to a village in the desert, a zombie siege overtook the village. While a majority of us made it out alive, one of Victor's friends got lost. We went to search for him the next morning, only to find his inventory scattered. He had died. Victor became distant. He didn't talk to anyone during the rest of the expedition, except for Parker's father, Connor, and Reed of course. Nothing could break them apart._

 _Or so it seemed._

 _It all started sometime after we began settling in the mushroom island village, and had begun to start families. Sometime while mining, Victor had acquired enough obsidian to build a Nether portal. The other miner's were wary, seeing as we could just row back to the mainland to get supplies, but Reed and Connor were all for it. That was the thing about those two; they never turned down an adventure. Upon constructing and activating the portal, those three, as well as me, Sabrina, and Endre's parents. After some exploring, we had reached a Nether fortress, and were naturally inclined to explore it. Once inside, we were immediately cornered by wither skeletons. We did our best to fight them off, but it seemed as though every time we took one down, another took its place._

 _Then Conner got hit with one of their swords._

 _Victor and Reed quickly grabbed onto him, trying to get him back to the portal. Some blazes had seen them running across the landscape, and began shooting fireballs at them. Endre's mother had tried to distract them and nearly succeeded. Once they turned their sights on her however, the situation quickly turned against her. She died because of those blazes. Reed looked back at the fortress, seeing that the rest of the group was in danger. That moment of hesitation was enough for a ghast to land a fireball on them. While Reed and Victor were grazed, Connor… didn't make it. His inventory just laid there among the charred ruins._

 _Eventually, some other miners came through the portal, saving us before we met the same fate._

 _For the next few days, it was somber and tense. Everyone tried forgetting about the Nether incident, tried going back to their old lives. Everyone but Victor. He was bitter and angry. Because one of his best friends choked, they lost the other. One night, there was a thunderstorm. By the time it had cleared, Victor was gone. There was no warning. Just a glowing Nether portal…_

 **BOOM!**

Everyone turned to face the direction of the explosion. They were still stiff from the story Margret had told them. The library had a gaping hole in its side, exposing the scene of renegade miners thrashing all over the place. Parker's men. While the iron golems tried to fend back the intruders, more often than not several miners ganged up on one and slayed it. It was utter chaos in and of itself.

The invasion had begun.

Pickaxe pulled out several invisibility and swiftness potions. "We need to go. NOW!" He tossed everyone the two potions, before consuming his own and darting out of the library. The land bridge wasn't his first destination, however. He was heading towards Sabrina and Reed's house. No way was he leaving without them. He swatted a few unsuspecting soldiers on his way there; there were too many to count.

When he finally arrived, someone had already beaten him to the punch.

Parker, Rosetta, and Blade were all in the living room, with Reed standing in front of Sabrinna on the other side. Blade looked more terrifying when you could see him. An iron sword hung at his side, a red scar cut down his right cheek, a black headband suppressing his flowing brown hair. He wore black dyed armor, just like the miners from earlier that day. Rosetta had a bow drawn.

"Surrender now," Parker stated, "And maybe Victor will show you mercy."

Pickaxe flinched; Victor was a part of this? Well, to be fair, there was no way that Parker would have the means of leading his military force ENTIRELY on his own. But Victor was a part of this? The man who had felt betrayed by Reed had orchestrated this entire plan from the start? There were no answers. Only questions.

"I will never surrender to that madman," Reed replied.

Parker made a "tsk-tsk" noise, looking disappointed. "Victor was right," he sighed, "You never think twice about your actions." He turned to face the archer, who was wearing her black skull. "Looks like he's a lost cause. Dispose of him." The archer nodded, gripping the bow and arrow tighter. Reed stiffened his position in front of Sabrina. "Tell dad I said hi… if you are heading his direction," was all Parker had said.

The archer released the arrow… only for it to snap in two.

The room was silent. Blade was suddenly thrown across the room, a floating iron shovel in the perpetrator's hand. _Nice one, Endre_ , thought Pickaxe. While still invisible, Endre proceeded to sweep the archer to the side, as well as Parker. The trio had tried to catch the wielder of the floating iron shovel, but to no avail. They were all unconscious by the time Endre had finished them off. The invisibility potion decided to wear off at that point.

Reed sighed from relief, before sternly adding, "We will discuss your penalties later."

Pickaxe dragged Parker and Rosetta out of the house, while Endre took care of Blade. They were met with the rest of the group, Margret, and Stan. Stan in particular looked out of breath. "So...many...miners…" he panted. Everyone but Reed was somewhat amused. "We need to get off the island," he announced, "If we can make it to the land bridge, we might have a chance." "Yeah, one hiccup with that idea," Texik brought up. He pointed in the direction the land bridge should have been…

...only to see some miners tearing it to shreads.

Reed's face sank. There was no way off the island. Pickaxe looked on toward the chaos that consumed the village. Miners desperate to retain their freedom tried swimming across the sea. Others surrendered involuntarily, were captured, or were killed. He looked to the Nether portal, his last resort at the time. Several dozen black-clad miners guarded that as well. So they were trapped… If only they could walk on water.

Walk on water... _frost walker_.

Several black clad miners took notice of the group, and began advancing toward the house. Pickaxe looked down toward their captives. His plan could work… but not with this much dead weight. He turned to face the group, "There's only one other way off this island," he started, "But it's kind of crazy…" Reed looked at him, desperation on his face. "Please," he begged, "I'm all up for ideas." Pickaxe turned towards the sea. He put his diamond boots on. The black-clad miners were so close to them…

"RUUUUUUUUN!"

The group slashed through Parker's men and darted to the shoreline. Pickaxe took a deep breath, and forced himself into the water. Only, he wasn't in the water. He somehow continued running without sinking or getting soaked. When he looked down at his feet, wherever he stepped on a water block, it became ice. "Frost walker," Sarah said in the back, "of course! Any boots with the frost walker enchantment allow literal walking on water!" Some of the miners had tried to follow them onto the ice bridge, but it had already begun to collapse by the time they reached it.

They ran until they reached land, and then ran some more.

The group panted from exhaustion. They were in the middle of the valley, daylight several moments from leaving. Pickaxe searched his inventory. A forest was behind them, and some coal was exposed in the rock face. Several sheep roamed the area. Pickaxe wasted no time. While he was collecting coal and shoveling up dirt, Madison was chopping down wood, and Margret, having brought shears, began shearing the sheep. As nightfall continued closing in, Pickaxe began to make shelters and torches.

They were all in dirt huts and in beds before nightfall.


	31. Nether Dead Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11: Back in the Saddle**_

Morning felt ironically upbeat.

Reed was the first to wake up that day. Sabrina was on the other side of the room, sleeping peacefully in her slumber. Reed allowed himself a little smile, as he kissed her on the forehead. _After all this, you're still with me…_ , he thought. He walked outside of the dirt hut. How did things get to this? Just a few weeks ago, the village was more prosperous than it had been in all of its existence. Now, he and his family were on the run from forces that planned to harm them… or worse…

Reed's thoughts were interrupted when he saw Pickaxe on the roof of his hut.

He was fiddling with his pickaxe, staring off into space. He seemed to be focused on something, whatever it may be, as the sunrise began to greet the day. Reed was impressed by this boy. Not only did he help in returning Jewel home, but he defended her from the Nether, and saved his family from being captured… or killed. What was his motivation? It intrigued Reed. It kind of reminded him of...an old acquaintance…

"Morning, Reed," Pickaxe greeted.

Reed snapped back to reality. "Oh…," he began, "Morning, Pickaxe." Pickaxe nodded, moving down his house back to the ground. "Any plans?" the miner asked. Reed thought to himself on this. He shrugged, adding, "For the first time in a while, no." Pickaxe looked puzzled. "Hmmm… well, if you can, try coming up with something. I'm gonna go get breakfast."

Before Reed could say another word, Pickaxe had already gone into the forest.

He sighed; that boy sure was… "...something else, isn't he?" Reed jumped in surprise, swiveling his head behind him. Jewel was standing there, a soft smile on her face. "Yeah, he rubbed me that way, too," she assured, "What's he doing now?" It took a while for Reed to respond, "Getting breakfast… whatever that means…" Jewel sighed. "Of course…"

The other miners began to awaken, the sunrise now fully encompassing the valley.

They sat on logs Endre had managed to gather from the forest. There was a lot to discuss. "So, what's the plan?" Texik began, wanting to waste no time in cutting to the chase. "We still have no idea what Reed or Victor wants with the village. I'd conquer it if it was me, but…" he continued, running a blank at the end. Madison faced Sarah and Endre. "Did you two come across anything that might explain what they might want with the village?" she asked. Sarah and Endre both looked at each other. They nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well," Endre started, "There was this one book in the library…"

* * *

Victor was waiting impatiently, worriedly, at the fortress.

The seizing of the village was successful. Any miners who had been on that island were either captured, escaped, or killed. The stronghold was just within their grasp. But it wasn't enough. Reed and some of his allies had resisted the takeover. They had almost successfully captured Rosetta, Parker, and Blade. Had it not been for the sheer number of soldiers present, they might have succeeded. But they still escaped. The three of his best soldiers were currently unconscious, lying in the room Victor stood in front of.

He hoped they were alright, especially his little girl.

Victor sighed, sitting next to the door. Why was he doing this, again? Why was he gathering so many resources, putting so many lives at risk? Why risk the life of Rosetta, his beloved daughter? Because there was glory at stake. Reed had the luck of settling his village right on top of a stronghold. If Victor could successfully reach the stronghold portal room, activate it, and then successfully go there and back alive, he would surely be a legend.

More so than his former friend at least.

Reed had always been the one with the fortune. Even long after Victor had left the village in a rage, all those years ago, he still heard rumors of a village on a mushroom island biome. Oh, the anguish he felt! In spite of the many struggles Victor had gone through to sustain himself, everything just walked up to Reed's doorstep. Nothing was ever good enough if Victor was somehow involved.

That was, until he met Friva.

It was all part of a sea temple expedition, in another far off village close to the ocean. The pay was good, if they succeeded. The mission was simple: killing guardians and the ancient guardian was accepted, but the gold blocks were the top priority. It was easy getting into the temple, seeing as Victor had experience with this sort of thing. Getting past the guardians was no hassle, either.

It was when they found the gold blocks that things got… complicated.

Victor and several other miners had decided to keep the elder guardian distracted, at least until the gold blocks were harvested. It wasn't easy, seeing as the mining fatigue from its laser was making the task a lot harder than it should have. When they had finally harvested all the gold blocks, they all began to make a run for it. The elder guardian wasn't going to live with that. It chased them down the corridors, and just when Victor thought it was safe…

… the elder guardian hit him with its laser.

It began approaching him, cutting its spikes into his body. He tried to call out for help, but it seemed as though no one had noticed. His potion of waterbreathing was running out. The elder guardian continued to attack. Victor's armor started to crack. His team had abandoned him. He had been left with nothing. He had made no lasting impressions upon the world. The elder guardian swam towards him again, as if it was about to seal his fate.

He blacked out before he could see his demise.

* * *

Back at the huts, the group was trying to process what Endre and Sarah had told them.

"A stronghold?" Jewel questioned. "I mean, I heard about them and all, but… one underneath the village?" "Exactly," Endre confirmed, "That's probably why they kidnapped the village…" "But why?" Madison intervened. "I get that it's the End and all that junk, but why would they go through all of that trouble?" "The End is a place few ever get to see." Reed mentioned. "To have been there alone is enough to make you a legend."

"But how will they get there?" Texik interjected, "I'm pretty sure the strongholds are crazy mazes."

Sarah held out a mysterious item in her hand. It looked like an ender pearl, only… it looked like a glowing blue-green eye with a thin black iris. "If they do find the portal room, they'll most certainly need these to activate it." Everyone was silent. Sarah tossed it into the air. It flew in the direction of the village, before hovering in midair and dropping back down. "We were lucky," Sarah muttered, "There's always a chance an _eye of ender_ might break when locating a stronghold…"

The silence continued for sometime.

Sabrina was the first to break the ice. "Do they have the eyes of ender?" she inquired. Endre tried recalling the events back at Parker's fortress. "I saw some diamond guards holding some ender pearls in their hands," he stated, "but there were no eyes of ender…" "Well, what's needed for an eye of ender other than an ender pearl?" Madison questioned. Stan jumped, "Blaze powder!" Something clicked in Jewel's brain. "When Pickaxe and I spied on Parker and Rosetta, they said something about visiting a Nether fortress…" she recalled.

"...and isn't that where blazes spawn?"

* * *

When Victor had finally woken up, he was in a bed.

He was placed in new clothes, and was in some sort of bedroom. With some caution, he exited the house, and took a look at himself in the river. He sighed from relief. Other than his clothes, nothing else had changed… almost. He still had the same rugged brown hair, the same determined green eyes. He was in a black t-shirt and some blue white pants. There were also scars on his hands. Painful scars…

He heard footsteps behind him, slowly increasing in volume.

They stopped just before they reached him. Victor didn't turn his head around. "Are you...okay?" said a voice. Victor paused. The voice was soft and sweet. He slowly turned his head back to the voice. It was a girl. She had short dark red hair and pale blue eyes. She wore a white t-shirt and a black hoodie, as well as some grey pants. Her face held a sense of sympathy and concern. Victor knew that face. He saw it before he blacked out.

"Yeah… I'm okay…"

The months flew by like nothing else. Victor and Friva just talked at first. But as time went on, they began to visit each other more often. They grew close to one another. They gathered together, mined together, fought together… nothing like the two had ever experienced before. It was only a matter of time before Friva would propose. Not much later, they would have a beautiful baby girl. At long last, Victor was finally being accepted into the world.

The griefers would say otherwise.

Victor had just returned home from mining. He had plenty of diamonds to give to Friva, and even more to make tools and armor. With the mood he was in, he probably would have made a jukebox. The smelled the fresh air, the smell of grass and… smoke? He looked toward the village, and his heart sank. The village was engulfed in flames, which burned upon it without mercy. He quickly ran in the direction of the house. He couldn't lose his family. He **wouldn't** lose his family.

Friva was still among the burning remains, shielding Rosetta in her arms.

Victor cut through the burning embers, making a path for his family to escape. The began to run, anywhere that was far away from the flames. They saw the inventories of deceased miners as they ran. Once they reached the outskirts of the village, Victor could smell fire. He felt the remnants of an explosion brush against his back. He turned around, his face twisted into an expression of absolute horror.

In front of their daughter was Friva, slowly burning to death at the hands of a fire charge.

Those flames that consumed the village haunted him at every turn. He spent restless nights in his bed, thinking about those nights to no end. He resorted to teaching her daughter various fighting techniques, including archery, which she picked up rather quickly. He was done letting things be taken away from him. But what was there left to take back?

A chance visit with Parker presented him with the answer…

The door opened to the room, bring Victor back from his visit down memory lane. Rosetta, Parker, and Blade all stepped out, having fully recovered from the village. Victor stood up and embraced his daughter, relieved that she was okay. He turned to face Parker. "I know you tried…" he began, sympathy in his voice, "and I thank you for that." He headed down the hall. "Gather the troops!" he commanded.

"...it's time to raid the Nether fortress."

* * *

Pickaxe had finally returned, looking unusually exhausted.

The others gathered around the fatigued miner, who weakly attempted to push them away, wheezing, "No time… breakfast…" As it turns out, while the miner was away, he had the good fortune of coming across some eggs, some pumpkins, and some sugar cane. He had also done a bit of mining at a nearby cavern...

...which explains why pumpkin pies and milk was on the menu that day.

Reed brought Pickaxe up to speed with the recent discussion. The mentioning of the Nether fortress triggered something… "I saw a Nether fortress," he recalled, "Just beside the village base. I heard the sound of bones clacking and fire spewing…" "That was probably the _wither skeletons_ and _blazes_ …" Madison explained. "They would probably go there to get the blaze rods to make blaze powder…" Pickaxe followed, a thoughtful expression on his face. "But how are we going to get there?" questioned Margret.

After some silence, Pickaxe pulled out a flint & steel and some obsidian.

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "How-?" Texik tried to question. "Mining," Pickaxe explained, "Found a lava lake when I was looking for iron. I think I'm four obsidian short, though…" Madison snatched the obsidian out of his hands. She eagerly placed the obsidian in the nether portal format, with cobblestone where the corners should be.

Everyone just looked at her with a blank expression.

"What?" she questioned, "A guy I worked with said Nether portals could be made like this, too!" Everyone nodded with a near simultaneous "Oh." Pickaxe faced the front of the portal. He looked at the flint and steel. He turned to face the group. "Won't it take a long time to get from here back to there?" he asked. Sarah shook her head. "A single block in the Nether is eight blocks in the Overworld!" she explained, "We'll be fine." Pickaxe nodded, and struck the portal with the flint and steel. It gained a familiar purple hue.

"Well," said Pickaxe, "time to go to a Nether fortress."


	32. Nether Dead Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: Fortress of Solitude**_

Finding the village base was the easy part.

The weird thing was there were no guards at the base. The nether portal wasn't even active on the inside. "Hmm…" muttered Sabrina, "I suppose they didn't come through this portal." Come to think of it, there wasn't any actual indication that the soldiers had even gotten to the island via Nether portal. At least, not initially. Pickaxe continued to walk in another direction. What looked like a structure in the distance was barely visible.

"That's the fortress," Pickaxe confirmed.

While Stan stayed behind at the base, the rest of group headed in the direction of the fortress, unsure of what else to do. If they were lucky, they could catch Victor, but it was likely he would have an army behind him. If so, then they might as well have focused on something else: the fortress' loot. Other than the chests scattered throughout the fortress, blaze rods and wither skulls could also be found here. But at what cost? The group would have to save that discussion for another time.

They had arrived.

A staircase of _nether bricks_ led into the imposing fortress. Its long corridors and imposing towers made it seem as though the structure was alive. Alive and waiting for its next victims to consume in eternal torment. The support pillars were submerged underneath the lava. Strangely enough, no ghasts were near the vicinity. The group continued staring at the imposing obstacle before them.

 _No point beating around the bush_ , thought Pickaxe.

The group walked up the staircase into the fortress' grounds. The halls of nether brick quickly overtook them as they entered the treacherous caverns. It somehow felt more oppressive than the Nether itself. They continued to walk down the corridors, their nerves on edge. At one point, everyone jumped at the sight of a wandering zombie pigman. Said pigman just gave them a blank stare, before continuing on with its business elsewhere in the fortress.

The group sighed, and continued walking.

Somewhere down the line, Pickaxe started hearing bones click-clacking. He froze. The rest of the group turned to look at him, only to freeze up as well. The bones stopped clacking. Pickaxe took some deep breaths, suddenly carrying his pickaxe and sword. He could hear whatever was behind him clacking violently, as if rushing towards him. Right on the dot, he swiveled around, crashing his weapons into an opposing stone sword.

Pickaxe knew not to take this competitor lightly.

The fighter in question had the black skull Pickaxe had seen so many times before. He looked like a skeleton, but he was entirely black. His stone sword was darker than a usual stone sword. He was also slightly larger than a skeleton. He wasted no time preparing for a second strike, which Pickaxe was too slow to avoid. It bashed him against the wall, which he slumped down in agony.

As Margret ran over to aid him, it was Madison's turn to face the brute.

Never before in all of her years as a monster hunter had she been approached with a job dealing with the Nether. She really wished that wasn't the case, as her axes continued to clash with the black skeleton's stone sword. Finally fed up, she proceeded to cut the monster's head clean off. It fell to the floor in a puff of smoke, only leaving behind a bone, a piece of coal, and its former skull.

Madison collected the loot, and turned to face Pickaxe.

He was slowly starting to stand again, as what appeared to be a black aura made its presence slowly disperse. He looked like some of his life force had been drained out of him. He slwly rubbed the area where the black skeleton had hit him. He looked at it grimmly. " _Wither skeletons_ …" he muttered, "They're no joke."

He took a step back before an arrow could try to pierce his ribcage.

The group turned to face a batch of both regular and wither skeletons, much to their dismay. "Are...you...KIDDING ME!?" Texik screeched. The nerve wracking atmosphere of the fortress had finally forced him to succumb under the pressure. Without warning, he brandished his flint and steel, and proceeded to set the skeletons ablaze. While it worked okay for the regular skeletons, it didn't do a thing to the wither skeletons. Pickaxe sighed, pulling out a bow and arrow to pick off the remaining skeletons.

Sarah gave Texik some food and potions to recover from the onslaught.

Once that was said and done, the sound of an exploding fireball could be heard outside. The group rushed toward the outer scene, ending up at a balcony exposed to the rest of the Nether. A monster spawner was in the center of platform, with several wither skeletons wandering around it. Pickaxe brandished his weapons for the imminent fight, when the gravity of the situation got far more complicated…

...for the monster spawner had released four new creatures.

Each creature was the same in every sense. All of them had smoke emerging from the center of their bodies. Blazing rods spiraled around them, showing no sign of stopping. Their was single concentration of a fiery core at the top, with contrasting deep green eyes. Upon seeing the group of miners, their bodies suddenly ignited into a more blazing flame. So this was the infamous _blaze_ …

 _Oh, crud_ , Pickaxe thought to himself.

Both sides lunged towards one another, each hoping to eliminate the other. Endre immediately crossed paths with a wither skeleton, dodging one of its strikes. Unfortunately for it, Endre was carrying his shovel. Meanwhile, Madison and Jewel, were tag teaming against two of the blazes, while Sarah and Texik took care of the remaining wither skeletons. Pickaxe was kept busy by blocking the blazes fireballs. He couldn't deflect them like a ghast's.

This fight raged on for quite a while.

Reed, Sabrina, and Margret looked from a distance, only wanting to intervene if things got too dicey. Out of the corner of her eye, Margret spotted a chest within the fortress. She nudged Sabrina, who immediately understood. The two tiptoed towards the chest, eager to see its contents. Two diamonds, an iron ingot, a golden sword, and a flint and steel. Strange loot. Down the halls, the two failed to notice a small magma cube, quickly rushing to attack its new prey.

Thank goodness Reed had brought a bow.

While the two ladies had remained oblivious due to examining the loot, the fight from earlier had finally died down. The group sighed from relief, as they made their way back to the others. They were hauling blaze rods, bones, coal, and a few wither skulls as well. "Not that easy, is it?" Reed jokingly asked. Jewel gave him a playful punch to the arm. "I'm still alive, aren't I?" Pickaxe put away his loot.

"Let's keep moving," he urged.

The wandered in that fortress and all of its twists and turns for what seemed like forever. They had to fend off waves of incoming skeletons (both regular & wither), blazes, and magma cubes. The zombie pigman weren't much of a problem if you ignored them. As time went on, Pickaxe heard the sound of footsteps. He thought he was just listening to the sound of his friends footsteps, but that was revealed not to be the case when the group noticed a group of miners in front of the fortress.

A group led by a miner with a scar on each hand.


	33. Nether Dead Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13: Unearthed Truths_**

Reed immediately turned pale upon seeing the miner.

Victor appeared to be in the middle of giving orders. The group he was addressing included several diamond and iron armored guards, Blade, Rosetta, and… Parker. "Dang it…" Texik whispered, obviously displeased. Pickaxe and company hid behind the corners, just out of the other miners' sights. Endre was making a " _What do we do?_ " gesture with his hands, his face carrying an extremely worried expression. The group didn't know. As if things couldn't get any worse, Texik tried fumbling for his flint and steel, when a block of TNT fell on the floor.

Victor fell silent, slowly turning himself toward the block.

Everyone was glaring at Texik, who immediately sunk beneath all the disappointment directed towards him. Victor slowly began walking toward the block, a few diamond armored guards following him. He approached it and picked it up, examining it, still unaware of the other miners. Everyone behind the corners froze. Victor began looking in front of him. They needed to act fast, before one of them got hurt. Luckily, Texik had a solution to atone for his slip up.

Victor looked down when he heard the ominous sizzling of TNT…

 ** _BOOM!_** While the explosion stunned Victor and the other miners, Pickaxe and the others made a run for it, retreating into the maze of the fortress. When Pickaxe was about to make a turn, Victor got a good look of him. Unfortunately for Pickaxe, he was carrying his… well, pickaxe, in one of his hands. Rosetta had told him about this miner. Especially about how he was dangerous…

"GET THEM!" he barked, "I WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY NO LONGER INTERFERE!"

"Split up!" Endre yelled, as the group ran down the halls. "We'll be harder to kidnap! Jewel, you, Reed, Sabrina, and Margret try to get back to the base and warn the village. The rest of us will play decoy!" Endre turned down one of the halls, splitting from the rest of the group. Jewel and company eventually split as well. The rest of the group eventually dispersed along the hallways of the Nether fortress.

Victor had the same idea.

Parker was darting across the halls, when he came across the sound of bones clacking. He groaned in annoyance, pulling out a bow. "Stupid walking corpses…" he muttered, shooting an arrow at the wither skeleton, killing it with a headshot. He went to pick up the coal it left behind, when he heard something running down the halls. He quickly hid behind the corridor, as the running came to an abrupt stop. He poked his head from behind the wall just enough to see a miner's hand, carrying… an enchanted diamond pickaxe.

Parker grinned maliciously, as he strung another arrow.

Blade had just finished off another blaze, picking up its rod. _Gonna need another sword soon_ , he thought, looking at his damaged iron sword. Darn Nether mobs… they were a lot harder to kill than Overworld mobs. _Hope Parker hasn't gotten himself killed_ , he wondered, _he still owes me my pay, and a lot mo-_ **_Zzzrt!_** Blade turned toward the sound of teleportation, but saw nothing. **_Zzzrt!_**

Blade turned again, but was met with a flint steel.

Jewel and company were just about to reach the exit. They had somehow gotten lost along they way, most likely due to the angry mob of skeletons that had rained arrows on them. Luckily, they were now making their way out of the fortress. From there, they would have to relocate the base, bring Stan up to speed, and prepare the village for a final assault. They just needed to get back to the ba-

 ** _Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!_** Of course…

Reed looked from the top of their new gravel prison. A strange redstone mechanism hovered above them. He could see several miners heading to the outside of the prison, obsidian in hand. "Oh no…" Sabrina squeaked, her eyes filled with fear. Surely enough, they heard the sounds of obsidian being placed around them. The group instinctively huddled closer together.

A figure jumped into the trap, as Reed's defensive position tightened further.

Texik held Blade in a standoff, or at least that's what he thought. Blade scoffed, "You can ambush me with anything you like, and you chose a flint and steel?" Blade swatted away Texik's pitiful weapon, as it fell off to the side of the fortress. He pulled out two diamond swords; "Pathetic…" he spat. He charged for Texik, who was barely able to block with a rather inferior wooden sword.

He managed to swat Blade back, and tried looking for a different weapon.

Blade recovered rather easily, and rushed to Texik, who narrowly sidestepped, but not fast enough to avoid getting hit. He gripped his ribcage, a small slash mark from where the sword hit. _Why didn't I take a potion with me?_ , Texik mentally scolded himself. Blade was readjusting himself from the narrow miss, focussing on Texik again. Texik growled; he only had a full stack of fire charges on him… Wait, a full stack? None of Blade's armor was glowing, either. Texik began to make a sadistic grin. "You don't have fire protection, do you?" he asked Blade, pulling out a fire charge.

Blade really wished he had visited the armory beforehand.

Parker finally worked up the courage to expose himself from his hiding spot. "Sayonara, scumbag!" he yelled, releasing the arrow in Pickaxe's direction. At long last, that loser was gone for good! Gone were the days of his meddling, his affiliations with Jewel, his pickaxe about to whack him upside the- **_SMACK!_** Parker was slammed into the wall, as a now angry Pickaxe was preparing for another strike. This time, Parker was smart, and ducked beneath the pickaxe's head. "Hmmmph… too easy. But how did you dodge my superior arrow?" Parker questioned, regaining his smug ego.

He noticed Pickaxe was holding a shield at his side… oh.

Instinctively, he pulled out his golden pickaxe, lunging for Pickaxe. Pickaxe blocked it with his own pickaxe, as he replaced his shield with his sword. Pickaxe looked at Parker with a _Seriously?_ expression. "What?" Parker asked innocently, "It's a decent combat tool…" Pickaxe swatted Parker away, preparing to charge at him. Parker did the same, the two miners locked onto one another. They lunged for each other in perfect sync.

Sparks flew when their pickaxes collided.

They kept exchanging slashes for the longest time. "Freaking die, already!" Parker would screech, while Pickaxe kept his cool attacking and counterattacking. While Pickaxe could've cared less, Parker decided to start monologuing. "Do you really think you can beat me?" he snarled, "Even if you do, the guards are gonna show up and finish you off! Once you're out of the way, I can finally be with Jewel. I'm sure the only reason she's resisting me is you! She's all I care about, nothing else! I could honestly care less about that stupid End portal. Once Jewel is mine, I'll just have to finish off Victor and his foolish daughter. Their both _so_ naive; they honestly think I'll help them because I hate Reed? Hah! I'll I have to figure out is how to make it look like an accident and-" "What?"

Pickaxe and Parker stopped their fight, turning their heads towards a shocked Rosetta.

Endre was simply walking down the halls, trying to see if the others made it safely to the village, when he heard the sound of Rosetta saying, "What?" Curious, he peaked across the corner of the hallway, and saw Rosetta standing in front of Pickaxe and Parker, who looked like they had just finished a furious battle sequence. "So…" Rosetta began, "That was your intention this whole time?" Parker tried to explain, "Rosetta, I-" "No," she interrupted flatly.

Endre hid behind the corner, wondering what the heck was going on.

"It was all a lie, what you told us… wasn't it?" Rosetta's voice increasingly got more and more bitter. "We saved you," she started, her voice quivering in rage. "We saved you from that ghast, we patched you back up. My father and I trusted you! Do you know how long he's been in that funk? How long I've seen him with a depressing look on his face? When you gave him the opportunity to redeem himself, he was the happiest I've ever seen him. And then you went and played me! You made me feel special… I actually thought you cared about me! I only assumed you got close to the girl for negotiable reasons, but- but you're obsessed! You're obsessed with that girl, and I was too blind to see it. You...you…"

Endre had never felt that awkward in all of his existence.

Parker was looking to the side, away from Rosetta, away from Pickaxe. Pickaxe had taken it upon himself to back away from the scene, but only down the hallway, still in their fields of vision. "I hope you enjoyed it," Rosetta choked, "Once my father hears of this, he'll see to it you never see the light of day again." Parker remained uncharacteristically still. Out of nowhere, he pulled out two splash potions, one of slowness and one of weakness. He threw them at Rosetta, who, surprised stiff, took the hits. She tried to move, but did so at a snail's pace. Parker pulled out a golden sword, a cold stare on his face. Pickaxe could've helped, but the blazes decided to steal his attention.

"Sorry it has to be this way," was all Parker said.

Victor had Reed right where he wanted him. "How long has it been?" he started, "A few years?" Reed increased his defensive stature. "I have nothing to say to you," he remarked flatly. Victor looked like he wanted to laugh. "Still as arrogant as ever, eh?" He pulled out an iron sword and an iron axe. Reed's defensive form stiffened. "Believe you and me, I don't want to do this, brother…" Victor said, his breathing heavy, "but most of us don't have that luxury, do w-"

"ROSETTAAAAAA!"

The room turned stiff. Both Reed and Victor swiveled their heads toward the voice. It was coming in the direction of the fortress. "Well?" Jewel frowned in annoyance, having already built a cobblestone staircase, "That was Endre; come on!" Jewel, along with Sabrina and Margret, climbed up the staircase and out of the gravel prison. Victor and Reed stared at one another. "This isn't over, brother," addressed Reed, glaring at Victor. Victor nonchalantly shrugged. "Just be glad your little friend shouted my daughter's name."

The two reluctantly rushed to the Nether fortress.

Several guards were blocking the way into the fortress, preventing Jewel and company from entering. "Let us pass!" Victor demanded, determined to see whether or not his daughter was okay. "Sorry sir, but we no longer take orders from you," one of the guards said, pushing Victor aside. "The boss says we can't let you in. He's done playing his little game…" A diamond sword suddenly went through the guard's chest. As he fell to his feet in a puff of smoke, Jewel stood behind him. The other guards had also mysteriously went missing.

"GET OFF OF HER, PARKER!"

That time, it was Pickaxe's voice. Victor quickly rushed into the Nether fortress, darting left and right across the halls. "ROSETTA!" he cried, running back and forth the dangerous through corridors. He ran into a group of wither skeletons. "OUT OF MY WAY!" he yelled, cutting through them with his dangerous blades. Several blazes showed up. When he tried reaching for his bow, he realized he had damaged it on the way there. "Darn!" he scolded himself. He looked to the blazes, ready to face them to the bitter end…

...only for some miner wielding fire charges and a diamond axe to cut through them all.

The miner turned to face Victor. His bright yellow eyes startled him. Following closely behind him was Blade, who looked charred to the bone. "Long story," was all he said. The rest of the group caught up with them. "ARE YOU CRAZY!? YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED!?" Reed yelled at Victor. Victor scoffed indifferently. "Where's Parker?" asked Texik. Endre's scream would provide them with the answer. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The group wasted no time reaching the scene.

Rosetta was on the ground, unconscious, but still alive. Endre was slumped against the wall, a huge gash in his chest, slowly dripping blood. Pickaxe was doubled down on the floor, as if recovering from a sucker punch to the gut. Above them all loomed Parker, a soulless gleam in his eyes. His golden sword looked like it had been _very_ busy. "PAARKEER!" Victor screeched, lunging at the miner. Parker took notice of him.

...he really had no problem plunging his sword through Victor's spine.


	34. Nether Dead Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14: Destinies Clash**_

Victor collapsed on the floor, his body wreathing in pain.

Parker _hmph_ -ed in discontent. Such an inferior specimen. Never in his entire life had he had to put up with so many fools. And all for what? A prize which was rightfully his for the taking? How pathetic! No matter; sooner or later, the job would be done. Madison lunged for Parker. _**SHHHHINK!**_ Sarah charged towards him. _**SKRAK!**_ Texik leaped at him with an insane man's face. _**SLAM!**_

One by one they kept coming, one by one he knocked aside.

He would kill them, but that would be too much work. Besides, Jewel was trying to get away. Poor thing; he'd have to comfort her later. With reluctance, he notched an arrow in his bow, and let it fly. Jewel felt the tipped arrow of weakness plunge into her, as she fell towards the floor. The last thing she saw was Parker walking toward her, as she slipped into unconsciousness.

One last bit of business to take care of.

His golden sword had really been worked to its limit. It could only be used one more time. He could just smelt it and save the gold nugget for later… but he had other plans. He stood above Pickaxe, who was still trying to recover from the painful blow Parker landed on him. Parke scoffed in disgust, and plunged his sword through Pickaxe's back. "GHHHKK!" was all Pickaxe's mouth could sputter. It would be too painful to yell. Parker let a small grin upon his lips in satisfaction, before bringing out his golden axe. Pickaxe wasn't the only one who was going to die.

The miner walked towards Victor, fiddling with his axe out sheer anticipation.

Rosetta's vision was limited, her consciousness desperately trying to penetrate its barrier. She heard the sounds of footsteps and groaning, only further fueling her desire to awaken. For a moment, her vision lit up, as she saw Parker looming over her father, an axe in his hands. Her vision blacked out again, and she heard a scream in the darkness. When her vision lit up again, she saw her father being hacked alive by Parker, as he slashed his axe over and over, trying to kill him.

With much effort, she managed to pull out her bow.

The bow had been heavily damaged at this point. Rosetta could only afford one shot. She pulled out her bow, doing her best to take aim. She couldn't wait any more if her father was to make it through this alive. When she felt the time was right, she released her arrow. It launched from its starting point at unimaginable speed… only to be left sticking out from the wall right beside Parker's head.

Rosetta's heart sank as Parker began advancing towards her.

Parker was done with these interruptions. A simple slice of the axe would be enough to send Rosetta to the grave. Such a shame, though… she was such a nice girl. He rose his axe to finish the job, when something grabbed his ankle. Shocked, both Parker and Rosetta turned to face… Endre!? _I thought that idiot was unconscious_ , Parker recalled. The very ticked look on Endre's face said otherwise.

He yanked Parker's ankle upward, causing him to lose balance.

Parker fell to the floor with a _**CRASH!**_ , his back suddenly overcome in pain. He tried getting back up, but Endre slammed his iron shovel against him, already back on his feet. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Endre screeched in utter rage. He knocked the golden axe out of Parker's hands, and hit him on the side of the head, effectively knocking him out. He prepared to deal the final strike, when someone grabbed his arms.

That someone was Rosetta.

"It's not worth it," she told Endre, "Not for him. If anything, we're doing him a favor." Endre though about this. Parker was a terrible person, that much was certain. He deserved a terrible punishment, but what if Rosetta was right? If anything, killing Parker would end his suffering, not start it. He brought down his shovel back to his side. He turned to face Rosetta. "Go get your father," he advised,"out base isn't that far from here. If you can get him to the village, he should be fine." Rosetta nodded, walking toward Victor and slinging him over her shoulder. She was heading towards the exit when…

"Take these," Endre said, tossing her several healing and regeneration potions.

As Rosetta left to find the base, Endre went back to check on the other miners. Other than Pickaxe, everyone seemed to be unconscious with a few bruises. Well, Jewel was just unconscious with an arrow in her right arm. Endre walked towards her, kneeling down to get a better look at her arm. "Brace yourself,"he whispered, even though Jewel couldn't hear him. He grabbed the arrow, and pulled it out of Jewel's arm.

She only flinched a little before resuming her unconsciousness.

Endre sighed from relief. He caressed Jewel's face, as he fed her a potion of regeneration. The gash where the arrow used to be already started to close back up. He slowly placed her head back down, and went to go check on Reed. Like the others, he was also unconscious, though it seemed Parker had hit him a bit harder than the others. He sighed, taking out a potion of healing.

Someone began crawling towards the golden axe.

With some struggle, Parker reclaimed his weapon. Silently, he rose back to his feet, tip-toeing towards Endre. This would end now. He rose his axe, prepared to finish off the "pitiful" miner. Unfortunately, he was unaware of a third person in their presence. Endre looked to see who to help next, only to see Parker towering above him. He swung down his axe, while Endre was too paralyzed with shock to do anything. _**K-CHNK!**_

Some people never go down without a true fight…

Pickaxe was still alive, somehow. The golden sword was still lodged in his chest, though that didn't seem to concern him. If Endre looked ticked earlier, well… Pickaxe looked like an enraged bull. He slammed Parker into the fortress' walls with his pickaxe. He quickly backed away, preparing an arrow in his bow. "My turn!" he declared, launching the arrow at Parker. Parker slashed the arrow in two before it made contact with him.

 _Game on._

Pickaxe and Parker rushed towards one another, pickaxes in hand. The began rapidly exchanging blows, usually canceling one another out. Eventually, Parker got sloppy, allowing Pickaxe to slam him to the side of the wall again. When Parker tried to retaliate, he ended up shattering his golden pickaxe. "NO!" he screamed, "GrAaAaH!" He once again donned his golden axe, ramming Pickaxe into the wall. He tried to charge again, but this time, he wasn't so lucky. Pickaxe cut straight through his armor, causing him to stumble backward.

When he tried to regain his balance, his throat was met with an iron sword.

Jewel looked at him with discontempt, still holding him in this position. "Jewel...why…?" he croaked. Jewel's unforgiving glare hardened; "You're too far gone. We can't let you hurt anymore people. Not for this…" Parker wanted to unleash his fury upon all of these miners, but at the moment he was badly outnumbered. The others had recovered, and, much to his chagrin, Blade had betrayed him. Within several minutes, Rosetta had returned with Stan and several miners from the village. It was over.

...and at that moment, Pickaxe collapsed.


	35. Nether Dead Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15: Recovery**_

He slowly began to see the light in the room.

Pickaxe rubbed his head, his mind still fuzzy. He was back at Reed's house, but didn't know how he got there. All he remembered was his showdown with Parker, and then… nothing. How did he even get back from the Nether? He tried sitting up, but something grabbed his chest, pushing against him. "Not yet, my dear," said a voice, "you still need rest…" _Sabrina_ , Pickaxe thought, recalling the voice. He slowly let himself fall back into the bed, his consciousness starting to fade.

For a moment, he thought he saw Sabrina smiling warmly over him, a tear or two in her eyes.

Victor was sitting in a room with Rosetta and Reed. Reed and Victor had not spoken a word upon seeing one another, and Rosetta was getting quite tired of it. "Hmph, I thought siblings were supposed to love one another," she sighed, getting up from her spot. She walked toward the door, saying "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone," before leaving. Even after the door was shut, the silence persisted. It was Reed who first broke the silence.

"...you raised her well, you know."

Victor looked up at him. He let out a small laugh. "Well, what else can you do when a loved one dies?" Reed's face showed concern. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-" "Don't sweat it," Victor assured, "I probably wouldn't have told you, anyway." The silence resumed… and was broken again. "I didn't mean to choke, okay?" This remark from Reed was enough to get Reed's attention. He didn't respond at first. "...maybe I knew, but didn't want to admit it." Reed faced him, tears in his eyes.

The two brothers embraced; "You're a helpless big brother…" Reed sobbed.

Margret begrudgingly led Blade to the prisons. Within the many cells of iron bars, blocks, and doors, were the soldiers of Victor's former army, and of course… Parker. His head was downcast, his clothes turning to rags. "Don't get any ideas…" Margret told Blade, as she exited the vile place. Blade walked down the halls to Parker's cell, with the other prisoners jeering at him. When he finally reached Parker, he didn't even look up.

"What are you here for, cretin?" Parker spat.

Blade didn't lose his stoic composure. "I would say I've secretly come to free you, but we should both know I'd be delusional to do such a thing in the first place." Parker just snickered. "Fool… this is but a setback… you've chosen the losing side." Blade allowed himself a small smirk. "The only way I've chosen the losing side is depending solely on the paycheck," he retorted, "I didn't need the money, anyway. I'll get by…" he said, turning his back on Parker and walking away.

"...knowing that Rosetta is safe."

Parker let out a small laugh when Blade was gone. He was truly surrounded by fools. If great minds thought alike, perhaps he was the only 'great mind' around. No matter. He knew very well this was indeed not over. The village may not have known it. Jewel's ridiculous friends may not have known it. Maybe even Parker's once loyal followers may not have known it. Parker knew. That was all he needed.

He laughed maniacally in his jail cell, playing with soul sand and wither skulls.

Texik was in the happiest mood he had ever experience. It seemed as though everything had been engulfed in a wave of euphoria. He didn't even mind "getting robbed" by the villagers of his precious resources. Parker was slowly rotting away in a jail cell, and he could receive the death penalty. Oh, what joy! ...was he turning into a masochist? Hopefully not. That might sour his potential relationships with other people…

Texik shrugged nonchalantly, and continued along his merry way.

Stan was conversing with Jewel and Rosetta, outside the building where Victor and Reed were conversing. "Seems to be going well in there," Stan mentioned, "though I still can't get over the fact that my dad has a brother… an older one, at that!" "I know what you mean…" added Rosetta, "My father would only briefly discuss Reed when he was in foul moods. Even though he talked about him more so than ever after meeting Parker, I still didn't learn of their siblinghood until recently." Jewel grumbled at the mentioning of Parker's name.

"Of all the people I don't want to talk about…" she muttered.

Rosetta let out a small laugh. "Believe me, I know what you mean," she began. "Endre informed me of your childhood history together. It seems his obsessive nature was started a bit too early if you ask me…" "Well, what attracted you to him?" Jewel stated bluntly, putting Rosetta on the spot. She blushed from embarrassment; "W-well… he was v-very courteous, and didn't seem to have any ultimate motive or anything… i-if you could call it that-" Jewel interrupted her with a laugh, which earned her a glare from Stan. "What?" she defended, "She's acting like Parker was a decent person!"

To be fair, you couldn't argue with that logic.

The next time Pickaxe woke up, he was still in the same room, but Sarah was feeding him something. A bottle filled with a pink liquid. When sarah was done, he gulped down the healing potion before letting out a yawn. "How long was I out?" he questioned, still feeling a little groggy. Sarah petted his head, allowing herself a small smile. "Too long," she chuckled, "but, you did good out there." Pickaxe said nothing at this, recalling events that deserved to stay in the Nether. "Where's Sabrina?" he asked after some time.

"Getting some materials from the farm," answered Sabrina, "She'll be back."

Madison was looking for Texik, wherever the troublesome boy might've been. She hadn't seen him since Parker was thrown into the slammer. He looked happy that day. "A little _too_ happy if you ask me…" she muttered. Eventually, she found Texik in the center of the village, conversing with Sabrina. _Finally_ , Madison thought. She'd been looking for him for a while. "Hey, Texik!" she called out, running towards him.

Meanwhile, Reed and Victor had finally walked out of the building.

"Well?" Jewel asked in anticipation. Reed and Victor looked at one another. "Well…" Reed began, "we talked some things out, and after some discussion...we're letting Victor move into the village." "What? That's amazing, father!" Rosetta exclaimed, tackling Victor in a hug. "Heh… well, it won't be easy," Victor stated, giving Rosetta a puzzled look. "I did some… pretty bad things to this village. I might have to work a bit in order to regain their trust," he explained. "Oh," Rosetta sighed, feeling slightly crestfallen.

Across the horizon, Stan could make out a group of miners heading their direction.

"Pickaxe!" he exclaimed, running towards said miner. Pickaxe was being accompanied by Sarah, Sabrina, Madison, and Texik. "Hey," Pickaxe replied, as the two shook hands. "How are you feeling?" asked Jewel, noticing Pickaxe's slightly sagging demeanor. "Not a hundred percent yet, but getting there…" he assured, looking a bit more lifted in spirits, "Where's Margret and Blade?" "They're out in the village, said they had business at the prisons…" Rosetta answered, "Why?"

"We have to get the whole gang together!" Texik explained, "We're throwing a party!"


	36. Nether Dead Chapter 16

**_Chapter 16: Past and Presence_**

One final day before the party would begin…

Pickaxe, having finished the decorations in the village square, was simply minding his own business at the fountain. While he was staring off into the distance, he noticed something was approaching. This something was a miner. And not just any miner, either. Pickaxe could easily recognize the dark green-eyed red head. He was wearing a blue t-shirt, black pants, and green shoes.

"Vincent! How've you been?" greeted Pickaxe.

Vincent let out a small laugh. "Eh, pretty good. How about you?" he replied. "Same old, same old…" Pickaxe responded, "What happened to you by the way? I haven't seen you since we reclaimed the Nether base!" "Ha… well, after I got to the village, Sabrina and I decided it would be best for me to check on my family, seeing as I was gone for a while…" He scratched his head in embarrassment. "At least I got to see my wife and son after all this time; they were both worried sick about me!" he continued. Pickaxe agreed.

Vincent seemed like the kind of person worth caring about.

Rosetta and Jewel were helping decorate the other areas in the village, and that included Jewel's house. The jukeboxes and banners were coming along nicely for Jewel. Meanwhile, Rosetta placed elegant pieces of quartz and glazed terracotta. Indeed, the house was starting tool a bit more like a royal palace! "Need anything else, ladies?" yelled Blade, down at the ground level where he could pass up materials. "No, thank you, Blade! We're actually doing pretty good up here!" Rosetta replied, passing Jewel another banner.

"Okay, then!" Blade replied, "Let me know if you need anything!"

Victor was busy helping move certain supplies across the village. In this instance, Sabrina had somehow convinced him to take milk and eggs over to the farm. He just couldn't say no to her friendly demeanor, and now he was in this situation. At least he wasn't the only one… "Come to think of it, now I can see where I get my black hair from," Stan commented, placing several hay bales to the side while putting some crops to plant. "So, how was life, being my dad's big brother and all?"

Ah, the good old days…

Victor stopped placing milk and eggs in the chest, motioning for Stan to come sit next to him. "You actually remind me of myself when I was young…" he began, "intelligent, reserved, determined. When your father came along, I knew I had to look out for him. And that's what I did. When you're in a city as big as Mojang and you're not careful, people will trample all over you! That's why Reed and I, we had each other's backs. We did everything together. We mined, fought, even had a bit of fun. We even discovered this very village together, though I doubt even you know that…"

Victor continued telling Stan his life's story, as the sun began to set.

At long last, the village was ready for the celebration to begin. Redstone lamps had been placed all about the town, and miners had gotten their best clothes on for the occasion. The boys in Pickaxe's group were at Jewel's house, putting on the clothes Sabrina had chosen for them. The other girls waited outside. "Hurry up, already, the party's about to start!" Madison complained. She was wearing a nice red silk gown, with red evening gloves and dark red flat shoes.

"Give us a sec, woman!" Texik yelled from the other side.

Rosetta sighed, "Boys…" She herself was wearing a yellow dress that blended into orange with orange high heels and short yellow evening gloves. "I'm honestly surprised my mother even had these clothes…" Jewel interjected, who was wearing a diamond blue dress with dark blue high heels. Sarah said nothing as she waited, with a purple dress, black evening gloves, and purple flat shoes. "Okay, we're ready!" Endre said on the opposite side of the door.

The boys stepped out of the room, with extremely classy attire.

Texik was wearing a dark green suit, dark green pants, a black tie, black shoes, and his hair (minimally) straightened out. Endre wore a dark purple suit pants, a hot pink tie, black shoes, and his usually shaggy hair was in order. Stan wore a black suit, black pants, black shoes, had on a diamond-blue tie, and had taken off his glasses, his moppy hair left unchanged. Blade wore a dark orange suit pants, dark brown shoes, a red and yellow blended tie, and his brown hair was pulled into a manly pony tail. Finally, there was Pickaxe, who wore a dark red suit pants, dark blue shoes, a gold colored tie, and his hair's usually messy spikes were laid flat with the rest of his hair.

"Wow…" was the phrase that left everyone's lips.

"I have to admit, your mother has good taste, Jewel," commented Texik, checking himself out in his new suit and tie. "You look stunning, my lady," Blade complemented Rosetta, who went a bit pink at this. Endre couldn't even take his eyes off of Jewel; Stan had to elbow him out of his trance. While Pickaxe looked at nobody in particular, he didn't notice Sarah giving him a thoughtful glance.

Sabrina popped her head through the front door. "Come on, everyone!" she encouraged.

The group walked outside to find the entire village in full swing. Music was blaring out of the jukeboxes as the miners danced, conversed, and ate. It was truly a sight to behold. Of course, Texik's main concern was the food, which is why he decided to run off to the dining table the second he got the chance. Madison sighed. "He's hopeless…" Everyone else laughed.

"Come on," Pickaxe said, "let's have some fun!"

Several hours later, Pickaxe and company found themselves sprawled on the floor. The party, which was still going on, had really gotten to them. Texik was twitching due to the sugar overload he had received at the dining table. "Too...many...cookies…" he groaned, trying to raise himself up but eventually collapsing. The others had simply danced too much. Eventually, Stan managed to pick himself back up.

"Okay, let's get back home…" he stated.

Blade had managed to pick himself up as well, grabbing Rosetta and carrying her back to the new house they would be residing in. Victor had opted to stay home instead of attend the party. With Margret, Reed, and Sabrina's help, Stan carried the rest of the group back to the house. He placed Jewel in her room, while everyone else was put in guest rooms. As Reed was about to enter his room to join his beloved wife, something grabbed his shoulder. He turned around; it was Victor.

"We need to talk," he said, his voice filled with urgency.


	37. Nether Dead Chapter 17

**_Chapter 17: Secrets and Surprises_**

The only time Victor sounded this serious was when life and death were at stake.

"I thought you were at your house…" Reed began, trying to delay whatever news Victor had. "Snuck out," Victor said flatly, "now don't try to distract me." Reed sighed at his failed attempt. "Can we at least get the others?" he asked. "Later," Victor replied, "Do you remember that stick Notch gave me when we were kids?" "The one he said could tell if a miner was a spawn or a breed? What about it?" Reed replied, becoming rather confused.

"There's something you need to see…"

Victor led Reed to Pickaxe's room, slowly opening the door. Without saying a word, they slowly approached his bed, with Reed still confused. At this point, Victor took out a purple-glowing stick. He motioned for Reed to pay attention. He pointed the stick at himself. It turned from purple to red. He pointed the stick at Reed. It turned from purple to red. "So?" whispered Reed, not wanting to awaken Pickaxe. Victor pointed the stick at Pickaxe.

It turned from purple to green.

It took some time for Reed to process what he had just seen. He and Victor left the guest room, with a storm of questions surging in his brain. "How… did you find out?" he asked Victor, still in shock. "I always keep the stick in my hotbar," Victor explained, "I didn't notice the color change at first. I realized what he was when he was in that coma." Reed paused. "So it's true, then… he's a spawn," Reed concluded. Victor noded.

"...when are you going to tell the others?" he asked.

The next morning, Pickaxe found himself being shook awake. The sudden movement was enough to make him yell "GAH!" and fall out of bed, landing flat on his face. He grumbled and rubbed his head, turning to see who the perpetrator was. It was Sabrina, but… her face showed concern. Pickaxe knew that wasn't good. Sabrina extended her hand to Pickaxe, who excepted as she pulled him up on his feet. "What is it?" he inquired, wondering why she carried that facial expression.

"We… need to talk," was all Sabrina said.

She led Pickaxe to the dining room, where everyone else was present. Great, Pickaxe thought, something to make me feel even more uneasy. He took a seat at the table, Reed's eyes drilling into his very soul. He had to look away; he'd never seen him that serious. "Mind telling us why we're here?" Sarah asked, attempting to break the tension. Reed took a breath. "Pickaxe," he began, his voice uneasy, "do you know… what you are?"

* * *

Parker fiddled in his cell, waiting or one of its guards to show up.

 _Fools_ , he thought, _they have no idea what I'm planning_. He continued to play with some of the various items in his possession: soul sand, wither skulls, flint  & steel… TNT. He had a plan that would soon be set in motion, and everyone who opposed him would pay. _Especially Endre and Pickaxe_ , he recalled, _those two have been thorns in my side for far too long_. When no one was looking, he turned behind him, looking at the trapdoor. Now all he needed was a witness.

* * *

"Wait… Pickaxe is a SPAWN!?"

Stan said this in the most incredulous manner he could manifest. Pickaxe a spawn? Impossible! "Hold your horses, son," Reed interrupted, bringing Stan back to silence. "Pickaxe," he asked again, "what exactly do you remember when you first saw the world?" Pickaxe put his hand on his chin. "I was in front of a river," he stated, "There was a forest behind me. The sun had started to rise. Other than that, nothing." "There wasn't anyone else?" interjected Madison, "No other miners?" Pickaxe shook his head.

"Born in total isolation…" Victor whispered, nodding in certainty.

"But that can't be right!" Endre argued, refusing to believe a word, "When did he meet Jewel then!?" "I think four days afterward," Pickaxe replied, earning shocked expressions from the group. "Plus, he didn't have a name before I met him," Jewel added, making the case that Pickaxe could very well be a spawn. "B-but it still doesn't add up!" Stan exclaimed, still refusing to believe this claim, "Spawns haven't been around for centuries! Your lucky to even find one today! He could be lying, or suffering from amnesia!" Pickaxe silently observed as the arguments continued to fly back and forth.

Personally, he believed he was indeed a spawn.

It all seemed to add up to him. His first time actually encountering the world was in the middle of nowhere. He was alone, whereas everyone else had parents. That, and he showed up fully grown, while everyone else claimed they spawned into the world as babies. While he and his friends both had to learn new and unfamiliar concepts, he felt more in the dark, but at the same time, he could register new information quicker than everyone else. He could learn the names of things just by looking at them. He didn't even have a name at the start.

Honestly, it was hard to see why Pickaxe wasn't a spawn.

Vincent suddenly busted through the doors. He looked even more pale than usual, and seemed to be out of breath. Everyone turned towards him, all arguments suddenly silenced. "It's… Parker…" he wheezed, still trying to catch his breath. Everyone's eyes widened. "Did he escape?" inquired Victor, fearing for the worst. "No…" Vincent whispered, "Killed himself… TNT explosion… saw his inventory…" Everyone remained silent. Texik jumped out of his seat.

"Okay, this is something I've GOT to see," he declared, running out of the house.

It took several seconds for the group to process the madness that Texik had just announced. They quickly gave chase after him, catching up to him inside the prisons. Where Parker's cell had been, there was now a gaping hole in the walls. Several items were laid about in the style that a miner had just lost his inventory. Even Texik was speechless. "That fool…" Rosetta choked, "he actually did it…"

Jewel heard someone else enter the prison, and they also strung an arrow.

Instinctively, Jewel pushed herself in front of Pickaxe, taking the hit for him. She gasped "GUH!" before falling to the floor, unconscious. "JEWEL!" Endre cried out, only to get shot himself. The volley of arrows struck everyone in the room. The last thing Pickaxe saw was a flash of bronze hair and silver eyes before passing out himself. Parker smiled smugly at his recent victory, walking towards the now defeated group.

"Child's play," he bragged.

He slung Jewel and Rosetta over his shoulders, walking just before the entrance. He had his prize, as well as a hostage to boot. He turned to face the other miners that were once his loyal followers. Their faces were filled with fear and uncertainty, given the events they just witnessed. Naturally, Parker laughed maniacally at them. He placed a lever on top of one of the blocks. "Good riddance!" he yelled, pulling the lever down.

As he walked out of the prison, the faint sound of a sizzle could be heard…

Pickaxe and company woke up to a wasteland. As they slowly stood up, they noticed that the entire prison had been reduced to rubble. Scattered inventories were in the former prison cells. "Wait…" Sarah began, "Where's Jewel?" Victor looked panicky as well; "Where's Rosetta?" he asked, expecting an answer. Nobody had one. Endre looked furious. "Darn you, Parker…" he muttered under his breath.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pickaxe saw a glowing purple hue.

He walked away from the rubble, finding the Nether portal active. "That foolish boy…" Margret fumed, an uncharacteristic rage on her face, "...he took them there." Pickaxe knew what she was talking about. Parker had gone back to the Nether, Jewel and Rosetta in tow. Texik knew exactly what to do… he flung himself into the portal full force, bellowing "PaAaArKeEeEr!" at full volume. Madison and Sarah followed close behind, Endre not hesitating to join them. Pickaxe looked at his inventory. He still had plenty of food and potions, and his tools were still in good condition.

 _Let's finish this_ , he thought, running through the portal.


	38. Nether Dead Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18: Ominous Summoning**_

It was official: Pickaxe didn't miss the Nether one bit.

Parker was waiting for them when they entered the fortress. He was at the entrance, with Jewel and Rosetta tied to a fence post made of Nether brick. "Finally," Parker hissed, his eyes glimmering with malicious intent. "You've fallen right into my trap," he continued, rubbing his hands together evilly. "YOU'RE INSANE!" Jewel yelled at Parker, cleary done with his schemes. Parker twitched his head at this statement. He slowly walked up to Jewel...

...and gave her a hard _**SMACK!**_ to the face.

Before Rosetta could complain, Parker smacked her, too. Both girls were immediately silenced, unable to say anything under the pain's influence. "You know I don't like to hurt you, Jewel…" Parker began, a twinge of sympathy in his voice, "but sometimes, you can be quite stupid." "YoU'rE dEaD, pArKeR!" Endre roared in rage, throwing himself upon the miner. Parker simply grabbed his arm, throwing him to the edge of the portal. Endre fell forward, grasping his back in pain. Parker scoffed at this; "Moron…" he grumbled.

"Now where was I?" he asked, "Never mind, I remember."

He began to place four pieces of soul sand into a t-shape. He pulled out three wither skulls, placing one on the left and another on the right. The third remained in his hand, as he basked in the glory of this moment. "PARKER, STOP!" Rosetta begged, "IF YOU PLACE DOWN THAT SKULL, YOU'LL KILL US ALL!" Parker briefly glanced at her with indifference. "Silence," he commanded, "this creature will obey all of my commands…" "NOO!" Rosetta cried.

Parker placed the last wither skull in the center.

The structure began to shake, and then it started to glow and spin. Parker took in this sight with open arms, while the rest of the group was petrified. As time went on, the creatures light began to dim, and Pickaxe began to make it out. It looked like a skeleton, without legs, but its neck branched off into three necks, resulting in three heads. It was pitch black, and its eyes were as white as a stray's. Pickaxe felt like something bad was about to happen… "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" he yelled, running from the monstrosity Parker had unleashed.

 **BOOOOOOOOM!**

Pickaxe looked behind him. The creature was no longer glowing, having created an explosion that destroyed the Nether portal's glow. While his friends had gotten out of the way safely, Parker appeared to have been within the blast radius. Sadly, he was still alive, bring himself to his feet. He pulled out a golden sword. "Now… creature…" he began, still recovering from the explosion, "...attack my adversaries… justify your existence!" The creature slowly hovered towards Parker, looking at him dead in the eyes.

It shot a black skull at him, effectively slamming him into the wall.

"W...w-what!?" he gasped in shock, hitting the ground. He clutched his chest, which was wreathing in pain. "Why...doesn't it… obey… me…?" he questioned, unable to comprehend the creature's disobedience. "You fool!" Rosetta screamed, "That creature lives on no one's rules but its own! It will kill anything that isn't undead!" Parker turned to face her, his face weak and horrified. His vision began to dim, the pain getting more and more unbearable. "Why… me…?" he tried to ask.

Those were his last words, as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The creature turned its attention to the girls, now that Parker was dead. They struggled against their bindings, cursing the fact Parker had tied them really tight. It looked as though it was about to fire ammunition when… an arrow clunked to the side of its head. Pickaxe leaped above the creature, using his pickaxe to cut away the fence post. "Scatter!" he commanded the girls, the three of them running in different directions as the creature fired off several blue skulls. What was this thing!?

 _Wither_.

"Oh, crud," Pickaxe muttered. Just hearing the name was enough to make him shiver, even in the Nether. "Rosetta, now might be a good time to fill us in on WHAT THE HECK PARKER SUMMONED!?" Texik screamed, as the creature began hovering towards him. Instinctively, he threw a fire charge at the monstrosity. That did squat. "That creature is known as a Wither," Rosetta began, notching a few arrows, "Technically speaking, it's a Nether mob, so fire won't do a thing. It's also undead, meaning that potions of harming will heal it, and vice versa-"

"Dang it!" grunted Texik, sheepishly putting his harming potion down.

"Undead, you say?" questioned Endre, suddenly carrying a familiar shovel. "HAVE AT THEE!" he cried out, charging toward the Wither. He managed to get a few hits in a first, pushing it out of the fortress. He continued to deliver blow after blow on the unholy creation… until it began shooting skulls. Endre was blown back, his body emanating an ominous black aura. Jewel's eyes widened in fear. She began running towards Endre.

"HE NEEDS SOME MILK!" she screamed.

Pickaxe instinctively pulled out a bow, and started shooting at the Wither, while Jewel dragged Endre to cover. Rosetta followed suit, but she carried… splash potions of healing? She ran towards the Wither's flank, and began throwing them in the Wither's direction. "Don't let up!" she commanded, as the Wither sustained damage, "If it hits you, it automatically regains health!" "Say that again!?" yelled Texik from the other side. Surprisingly enough, one of the Wither's blue skulls hit him. The explosion sent him flying into a netherrack crater.

Madison was ticked to say the least; "SHUT UP AND FOCUS!"

Pickaxe continued to volley arrows, circling the Wither, attempting to get closer. Every now and then, he'd have to retreat when the brute shot its skulls. While Jewel was nursing Endre and, now, Texik, from behind the fortress, Madison attempted to charge with her battle axes, while Sarah followed Rosetta's lead with the healing potions. If they kept this up, the Wither would be done for in a matter of moments. Maybe it knew that, too…

...halfway through, it gained this weird glow.

"What the heck!?" Pickaxe exclaimed, noticing his arrows no longer put a dent in the Wither. "It's wither armor!" Rosetta explained, "The good news is it'll stop flying. The bad news: ARROWS NO LONGER WORK!" _Great, of course it isn't that easy_ , thought Pickaxe. It began shooting more skulls, causing the group to be pushed back. They took cover behind the fortress, where Endre and Texik had just finished recovering. Jewel, wondering what was going on, peeked her head from their hiding spot. She saw the Wither and its wither armor for a brief moment, before it suddenly stopped.

No longer seeing the group, the Wither decided to hover away, further into the Nether's dangerous landscape.

Pickaxe and company were worn down, bad. They all had scratches and bruises. Some had acquired the Wither effect, having to use potions to stall it, and later milk to cure it. Everyone was breathing hard. Pickaxe looked at his bow. It only had a bit more life in it before it gave out. Even then, they'd still have to confront the Wither when it would regain its armor. "What now?" asked Texik, looking past the fortress, the Wither now gone. Pickaxe knew what to do. He equipped his pumpkin and shield. He stood up, drinking a potion of swiftness and night vision.

 _Let's finish this_.


	39. Nether Dead Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19: Shooting Nether Star**_

It wasn't long before they re-encountered the Wither.

It was currently slaying a group of magma cubes. When it finished, it challenged a ghast to a duel. The Wither won. With its recent victims defeated, it simply floated around the area, nothing else to do. Endre gulped. While they were quite far away from the Wither, once they got their attention, he knew it was going to notice them. _But we can't just leave it alive_ , he thought. From what Rosetta told them, the Wither couldn't traverse the Nether portals, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

With reluctance, he turned to Pickaxe and nodded.

Pickaxe strung a bow, and fired on the Wither. It quickly turned its attention to them, and began to approach. _Keep firing_ , he thought, _you have to bring it down to your level_. He continued shooting arrows, and the wither got closer. His bow was down to its last use. He had to make it count. He strung the arrow, his focus fading from everything else. His vision went black, except for his bow, his arrow, and the Wither. Both of them made eye contact for a brief moment.

Pickaxe released his arrow.

Reality faded back into view. The Wither had been shot right between the eyes, but had now regained its wither armor. It hovered down to face the group, its white eyes glowing ominously. "Now it gets serious," Pickaxe declared, brandishing his pickaxe in his right arm. Everyone else readied their weapons. The Wither let out a spine-chilling screech. _Welp_ , thought Texik, _here goes nothing_. He threw a potion in the wither's direction. It was a potion of healing.

At that, the two opposing forces charged.

The Wither began firing skulls again. Texik was wielding an iron sword enchanted with sharpness, as he cut into the creature's bones. "How you like THESE apples!" he boasted, as the Wither forgot to shoot him for whatever reason. Sarah and Rosetta continued throwing potions of healing at the creature, which was wearing it down… barely. "Endre, a little help here!" Madison yelled, currently taking on the wither with her axes.

"I'VE GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS!" he argued, running from a surprising barrage of blue skulls.

Jewel was trying to get a hit on the Wither, but rarely did so, as it also shot skulls at her. Pickaxe was playing a hit and run game. Hit, run with your shield, run back, repeat. A bit too much if you asked him. The Wither finally had enough. He released an unholy onslaught of blue and black wither skulls, causing the group to scatter.

When Pickaxe looked back, he saw firsthand the Wither's true nature.

Craters darted across the landscape in close concentration with one another. Jewel was lying in the center of the landscape, a milk bucket barely out of her reached. She was radiating black. Pickaxe and Endre were thinking the same thing: _Oh no_. Without think twice, Pickaxe rushed towards Jewel, as the Wither began hovering towards her. With a rather impressive jump, Pickaxe landed in front of Jewel, holding out its shield to block the Wither's attacks. With Jewel guarded, Endre followed close behind, feeding Jewel the milk. The Wither tried stubbornly through Pickaxe's shield, with no luck whatsoever.

It only got worse for it when Texik got involved.

Out of nowhere, something invisible lunged at the Wither, an iron sword in hand. While Texik knew that the Wither would notice him after this attack, he didn't care. "NOT SO TOUGH NOW, ARE YOU!?" he bellowed, continuously slashing at the Wither mercilessly, like the mad greifer he once was. Once Jewel recovered, she, Pickaxe and Endre joined the fray as well. Sarah and Rosetta had run out of potions, and were now using their weapons, Rosetta forced to use a stone sword instead of her bow.

"KEEP ATTACKING!" Endre encouraged, "IT'S ALMOST DONE FOR!"

It really didn't seem that way for the others. The Wither still fired its skulls, still managed to avoid attacks from time to time. Regardless, the group kept attacking, determined to end the creature's existence. Pickaxe had ditched his shield for his sword, and was doubling down on his offensive strategy. Of course, that still wasn't enough from keeping the group from contracting the Wither effect. Their remaining potions and milk buckets had dwindled significantly. The Wither regenerated health when it gained a direct hit.

At one point, Endre's shovel broke.

At first, he blinked, before narrowly dodging one of the Wither's attacks. Slowly but surely, the group's other weapons started to shatter, forcing them to retreat. Pickaxe was the last one standing, his enchanted diamond tools reaching their breaking points. The group looked from behind their cover with concern. None of them had brought any back ups, and they couldn't risk going back to an inactive portal. Endre grumbled to himself, wishing he could do something.

As if one cue, Pickaxe's diamond tools broke.

He grunted to himself, pulling out his shield. He couldn't wail on the Wither anymore, but he could still wear it down. With his shield in hand, he resumed his hit and run technique, instead punching the Wither when he got the chance and blocking its attacks with his shield. The rest of the group held its breath; it was only a matter of time before the shield broke, too. Something occurred to Endre. He quickly pulled out the stone sword his father had given him. He didn't notice before, but something was odd about it.

It had Smite III & Knockback I, and looked barely used; it had the name _Wither Slayer_.

 _Dad…_ , Endre thought, his mind at a loss for anything else. His dad had seen this coming. One of Parker's men must have plotted summoning a Wither before, probably as a last resort. Endre's thoughts were interrupted by an explosion. Pickaxe flew off into one of the craters, his shield finally broken. That blue skull had finally finished the tool off. Endre looked at Pickaxe, then back at his stone sword. _No time to lose_.

"PICKAXE!" he yelled, tossing the Wither Slayer in his direction.

Pickaxe caught the sword in midair, immediately understanding Endre's intentions. He could feel the power coursing through the sword. He faced the Wither with a determined expression, the Wither also preparing for a final assault. Pickaxe took a step back, preparing to charge. The Wither's armor began glowing especially bright. Without warning, he shot an armada of skulls in Pickaxe's direction.

With a newfound fury, Pickaxe charged toward the Wither.

The skulls narrowly missed him, as he bobbed and weaved between them. He finally reached the Wither, and began slashing against it over and over. He hit it on all sides, at all angles. His armor started to chip away, but he neglected to notice. He was in full on beast mode, slashing the Wither left and right. It's armor may have protected against arrows, but it had nothing on the Wither Slayer. Pickaxe continued bashing on the Wither, its ghastly screams filled with pain. He delivered on particularly strong blow…

...and the Wither fell over, withering away in a puff of smoke.

For a moment, everyone was still. Pickaxe was trying to comprehend what he had just done. He killed a Wither. He killed a _boss mob_. He was tempted to yell in victory towards the Nether's rooftop. But he was more intrigued by what the Wither had dropped. Granted, while it didn't make up for the sheer amount of devastation the Wither had caused, it did seem to radiate power. It was a four-tipped silver star, with green lines forming in the middle of each tip. A _Nether Star_.

He heard a * _zrrrt_ * behind him.

He turned to face the enderman, in its hands a block of obsidian. He didn't know what to think at that moment, glad that his pumpkin still resided on his head. A few moments passed, the two refusing to break eye contact. The group looked away from the scene in fear of provoking the enderman. The enderman placed his obsidian block in front of Pickaxe. He looked down at the block, then back at the enderman. For a moment, Pickaxe could've sworn that it nodded. It teleported off without any warning. Awkwardly, Pickaxe picked up the Nether Star, right in front of the obsidian block the enderman had left.

He turned to face his friends; "Time to head home."


	40. Nether Dead Chapter 20

**_Chapter 20: The Beginning_**

When he woke up in his bed the next morning, Pickaxe wanted to believe the whole thing had been a dream.

He wanted to believe that Parker had truly died by killing himself in his own cell. That he didn't really stage his death just to kidnap Jewel and Rosetta, killing the rest of the prisoners. That he didn't travel to the Nether and summon a creature so unholy, it made the Nether ten times worse. That Pickaxe and his friends didn't have to face off against this creature to prevent any further casualties. That Pickaxe didn't kill the creature and gained its loot. That Pickaxe didn't somehow have a strange meeting with an enderman. That Pickaxe and his friends didn't reactivate the portal and return home because Parker's flint and steel was conveniently left in his inventory pile. But he couldn't believe any of that…

...because the Nether Star was still in his hand, and Endre had somehow collected that obsidian himself.

He sighed, pulling himself out of bed. He put the Nether Star back in his pocket. He was supposed to be somewhere. After mentally preparing himself, he climbed down the ladder of his mushroom house. He headed towards the village, which was mysteriously empty, save for the few villagers and iron golems still wandering about. Pickaxe didn't worry, though. He knew where they all were. He walked through the desolate village, until he reached one of the hills.

There, right in front of him, stood the memorials.

Many village miners had died throughout Parker's War (Texik had suggested the name). Some of the biggest casualties were during the invasion of Parker's Nether base, and during his invasion as well. All throughout the memorials were signs bearing the names of miners and their contributions, as well as a chest that carried their belongings and even inventories, which were beneath the ground level in order to be buried, for fear of being stolen. While Pickaxe felt sorry for the families and friends gathered around their loved ones' memorials, there was one memorial Pickaxe was dead set on seeing.

It stood between Pickaxe's own group of friends.

There the memorial stood, everyone looking solemn over it. Victor, Rosetta, Vincent, and Margret had joined Jewel's family and the others just to see it. This particular memorial, along with a few others, was planned to be decorated later. Of all the people present, Endre seemed to be shaken up the most. Pickaxe put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he was a good man," he assured Endre, trying to comfort him. He wiped a tear from his eye, slowly nodding in response. Pickaxe and Endre opened the chest of this particular memorial. Pickaxe placed the Wither Slayer inside, while Endre put in an ender pearl. The memorial's sign read:

 ** _Shawn_**

 ** _Father, Husband, Friend, Adventurer_**

 ** _The First Fallen, He Will Not Be Forgotten…_**

As the villagers slowly trickled back to their normal lives, Pickaxe headed toward Jewel's house. Reed had something he wanted to share with the others. It just so happened Pickaxe was the first one to arrive, after Jewel and Stan, of course. He waited in the main room, as the others began to arrive one by one. Jewel eventually joined them, rushing from her room. Before Pickaxe could ask her something, Reed had entered into the room. Jewel had asked for Pickaxe's Nether Star, and had yet to give it back.

Reed looked around to make sure everyone was accounted for, and cleared his throat.

"First off…" he started, a bit of nervousness in his voice, "I'd like to apologize. Even though you did disobey my direct orders, and nearly got killed… you survived. And even though you went behind my back yet again, it proved effective with making sure Parker's invasion wasn't a complete success, and allowed us to end his war. Not only that, but when my daughter and niece were captured, you helped to not only rescue them, but defeat a formidable foe a select few have managed to conquer."

"...and for that… I thank you."

With his speech concluded, Reed turned behind him towards a large chest. He motioned for the group to look inside. Perplexed, the group decided to approach the chest. Since Stan was the only one unwary of the chest's contents, he took it upon himself to open it. The group simultaneously gasped in shock. Within the chest was all the groups old materials! "My TNT!" Texik exclaimed, now pouncing on the chest. Sarah looked at Reed in surprise as the others reunited with their old materials. He simply cracked a smirk.

Then Texik pulled out something questionable… another Nether Star.

Everyone in the room gave Texik an incredulous look. He turned beet red, awkwardly confessing, "I might have stolen from an adventurer that one time…" Everyone then decided to give him deadpan stares. "...I have really deep pockets…" was all he said after that, facing the floor in embarrassment. "As much as I'd like to whack you upside the head," Madison interjected, "this actually works in our favor." She faced Jewel, giving her a knowing look.

Jewel sighed, and walked towards Pickaxe.

She was carrying something in her hand. It was the Nether Star, only… it was attached to a string. Not only that, but this string appeared to be adorn with bits of gold, netherrack, and even wither skull material. It was interestingly beautiful. "Pickaxe," Jewel started, her voice soft at first, "we may have faced the Wither together, but… it was you who finished it off. It was you who helped us navigate the Nether, who never gave up in the fight against Parker. You're the reason I-no, all of us, are still here. And for that…" Jewel grabbed the necklace with both hands, raising it over Pickaxe's head before placing it on his neck.

"...I give you this."

Pickaxe didn't know what to say. His Nether Star necklace went all the way to the center of his chest. He was truly honored. He looked at Jewel, his face filled with gratitude. "Thank you," he replied, honestly happy beyond belief. Jewel gave him a little smile. "Not only that…" she stated, turning towards Texik and Endre, "but you can help us make the village's very own beacon!" Pickaxe looked confused. What was a _beacon_?

Endre held out some obsidian, and Texik held out the other Nether Star.

Pickaxe accepted both, albeit somewhat hesitantly. Jewel handed him some glass. "Relax," she reassured him, "you've got this." Some fine words of encouragement… Pickaxe headed towards the crafting table, determined to figure out the beacon recipe. Naturally, he placed the Nether Star in the center. After some thought, he placed the three obsidian blocks at the bottom. He put the remaining five glass blocks everywhere else. The materials began to shake.

They merged into a brand new block.

The block had a smaller glowing block within the center, with an obsidian base and a glass encasement. So this was a beacon, huh? Everyone eyed the block in anticipation, their excitement levels building up. "Come on!" Madison exclaimed, leading the group outside. To their surprise, in the center of the village, there was a pyramid-like structure made of diamonds. Rosetta wiped her forehead, carrying several spare diamond blocks in hand. "Well, Pickaxe?" she asked, motioning towards the pyramid top, "You do the honors." Pickaxe looked around; the whole village was watching. _No pressure there_ , he thought. Nonetheless, he walked along the pyramid, raised it like a long lost relic…

...and slammed it smack in the center of the pyramid top.

At first, the block just stood there. Suddenly, the block began to glow, and this glowing intensified until… a column of light shot up into the air. It lit up the village in a glorious light, as Pickaxe stood in awe. Jewel handed him an emerald, saying, "Why stop there?" Curious, he drew closer to the beacon. He pressed onto it, and was suddenly surrounded by 6 different options. Different icons that represented different powers: speed, haste, resistance, jump boost, strength, regeneration.

But which one to choose...

He was still trying to recover from the whole Wither incident; regeneration sounded good at the moment. He took out his emerald, and placed it in the beacon's slot. He tapped the regeneration icon, and was met with a check vs. an "x." He chose the checkmark, and was suddenly warped back to reality. He felt a wave of health wash over him and his friends. The beacon had granted them the power of regeneration.

Defeating the wither had been more than worth it.

Pickaxe began walking toward the mines, his old diamond pickaxe in hand. Just because he and his friends saved the village and killed a Wither didn't mean they could slack off. Besides, he needed more iron to make an anvil. He was just about to reach the mines, when someone grabbed him, and pulled him off to the side. At first he was shocked, but he turned around, only to see… Sarah!? What was she doing? Wait, was she… blushing!? She pulled Pickaxe close, to the point of which the two were practically in each others faces.

Without warning, she kissed him on his cheek.

When she finished, she ran off without saying a word, her face redder than he had ever seen. Pickaxe was too shocked to do anything. _How...why...what…_ , was his current thought process in a nutshell. Eventually, he had to shake it off, distracting himself by mining. Even then, he couldn't get what Sarah had just done out of his mind. She hadn't even shown interest in him since their first meeting. The only time he'd ever seen her act like this was when…

...was when… she was looking at him… at the dance…

Sometime later, Pickaxe emerged from the mines, having just enough iron and a bunch of other resources. He planned on retreating to his house and call it a day, but then he heard someone shouting, "HEY! PICKAXE!" He turned around, surprised to see Texik and the gang (as well as Rosetta) sat on logs around a campfire. He joined them, trying not to bring up the fact that Sarah was expertly avoiding eye contact with him the entire time.

Other than that, it was a really good conversation between friends.

Eventually, sunset began to greet the land. "Man," said Endre, recollecting previous events, "We've all been through so much. Jewel came back home, Parker turned out to be a crazed maniac, we defeated a Wither…" Everyone agreed with him wholeheartedly. They really had been through a lot, hadn't they? "What else is there?" asked Rosetta, cleary wondering if there was another challenge they were yet to face. Pickaxe looked at Rosetta. Then at Endre. Everyone looked at him, as though he possessed knowledge very few obtain. He pulled out an ender pearl.

"Where else..." he began, "...but the End?"

* * *

 _End of Book Two: Nether Dead_


	41. Fight 'Til The End (Book 3) Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: Long Way Home**_

Rain dropped across the mesa, cooling the usually dry atmosphere.

As the downpour continued, a group of miners ran through the rainfall. Pickaxe was at the front, heading towards a rather familiar location. "WE'RE NOT TOO FAR!" he encouraged, his voice being drowned out by the rain. "OF COURSE!" replied Texik, "I REMEMBER THIS BIOME LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND!" "BECAUSE THERE'S RICHES?" Madison teased.

 _Groaaan…_ ; "YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS!" cried Sarah.

The group continued to run, as the monsters of the night gave chase. Rosetta had to string her bow in order to take down the zombies. Victor helped as well, brandishing his axe and sword to cut down the spiders, among other things. "Where the heck is the shelter!?" Endre barked, "This is all too much!" Sabrina managed to catch an odd structure in the distance. "Is that it!?" she inquired, turning everyone's direction to the structure. It was a mesa canyon wall… but with torches and a door.

"YEEEES!" shouted Stan, being the first to rush to the shelter.

The minute he opened the door, he was immediately run over by the adventure goers. While Pickaxe managed to dodge him like a respectable person, Texik and Endre made him fall flat on his face, Sarah and Madison simply didn't notice him, his own parents accidentally stepped on his spine, Victor broke his rib cage, and Rosetta nearly cracked his skull. By the time Jewel had walked in, she walked around her brother, dragged his limping body, and slammed the door shut before they were hit with a skeleton arrow.

Everyone let out a unanimous sigh of relief.

"Uggghhh…" Reed groaned, "It's been too long since I last ventured the great unknown…" He collapsed onto the floor, as Sabrina ran to comfort him. Endre started to get to work on some more beds for the next morning; too many monsters were nearby to rest. Victor was busy examining his weapons, not too keen on having them out of shape. "Tonight was more hectic than usual…" he muttered, lying his head against the wall. Rosetta was straightening out her bow as the rain continued to fall.

"Not as hectic as the last time it rained…" Rosetta recalled.

* * *

Pickaxe was finally heading home.

He had been packing for several days, finally prepared to make the perilous journey back to his old house. His friends had already discussed that they would follow sometime after, needing to properly prepare themselves before they caught up with him. While Pickaxe wasn't for it at first, he eventually complied, wishing the others luck on their own journeys. The morning that he left, however, he was blissfully unaware of some of his friends' intentions…

"Thanks again!" Blade chirped, walking out of Sarah's house holding several potion bottles. Sarah waved goodbye to him as she closed her door, heading back to her chest. She quickly placed her remaining inventory items into the chest, before proceeding to examine what to bring and what to leave. While her friends had all agreed to meet up with Pickaxe in a few days, she really wanted to go sooner instead of later. Pickaxe couldn't have all the fun!

Besides, she needed to explain herself for earlier events.

At Jewel's house, Sabrina and Reed were dashing about, trying to get this item and that. "Goshdarnit…," Reed grumbled, "where on Earth is my shulker box?" Sabrina sighed, as she grabbed some items from her chest. "You left it here, dear," she told her husband, "right after that _one_ witch expedition…" Reed went pink, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I said I had eaten a pufferfish from the swamp…" he muttered.

The both stopped cold when the front door opened.

They immediately hid any and all evidence of their antics behind a painting Reed had put up in his spare time. Reed placed himself in front of a crafting table with a book and quill in hand, making it seem as though he was simply doing redstone experiments. Meanwhile, Sabrina busied herself with a decoy checklist. "Mom!" Jewel yelled from the first floor, "Have you seen my sword?" Both Sabrina and Reed let out a sigh of relief.

"In your room, sweetie!" Sabrina called out.

They heard the sound of footsteps heading up the stairs, as Sabrina started playing with her hair. "Are you sure she'll be sneaking out tonight?" she asked Reed, still worried about their recent activities. Reed put down his book and quill, an extremely self-certain expression on his face. "Of course she will," Reed assured, "I know my daughter! She's probably packing as we speak." Sabrina looked to the side; _you may know your daughter, but you still haven't discovered our sunflower house…_

"Besides," Reed added, "I hooked up this redstone light and a tripwire to see when she leaves!"

While Jewel was checking her inventory, someone was stalking her from a nearby red mushroom. While Endre was looking through the cleverly disguised windows (aka red glass), Texik was lying on the floor… doing absolutely nothing. While originally an outpost for when Jewel would return from the Nether, Endre had decided to bring it back into commission for… personal reasons. Texik choked on some fish, as his pet parrot Siren squaked in disapproval.

Endre looked at the reformed griefer in disgust.

"What in Notch's name are you doing?" he demanded, clearly annoyed. When Texik finished choking, he yawned as Siren flew on his shoulder. "Wanted to feel important," Texik responded, "though personally, I'm more worried about you. If you keep stalking Jewel, it's only a matter of time before you go full yander-" Texik was cut off with a swift slap to the face. Endre took a deep breath, flailing his hand around before resuming his position, looking into Jewel's room.

"I'm not going to go yandere…" Endre muttered.

"Eh, you couldn't pull it off anyway," Texik remarked, scratching his hair. "I know I'M going to sneak out of the village, but what makes you so sure Jewel will?" he questioned, pulling out a cooked pork chop. Endre gave him a look as though he was stupid. "Remind me again who's known Jewel since childhood?" he mockingly asked, to which Texik could not rebuttal. With that, Endre continued to look through Jewel's window. "Besides," he continued, "if one person isn't going to sneak out, it's Madison. It's not like she's…"

 _...currently gathering supplies as we speak._

Madison was sharpening her shiny new axes, courtesy of Rosetta. She quivered at the sharpness of them, imagining the sheer amount of carnage she could bring upon the mobs. "Glad you like them," Rosetta stated, "But why do you need them… and the sheer amount of foodstuffs I gave you?" "Eh?" Madison asked, still distantly lost in imagination. She turned to face Rosetta, putting away the axes. "Well," she began, "I was going to sneak out of the village to go find Pickaxe…"

"BUT WE AGREED TO GO SEVERAL DAYS AFTERWARD!" Rosetta interrupted.

"...however, I decided to instead use this stuff for a Nether expedition!" Madison finished, as Rosetta looked at her in awkward silence. "T-the Nether!?" she stammered, still trying to get over her rather embarrassing interjection. "Yup," Madison confirmed, "I plan on going in a few days. Just wanted to make sure I got everything." She headed towards the door, turning back to face Rosetta. "Thank you again!" she thanked, heading out the door.

On the way out, she passed by Blade.

"My lady!" he called out, entering the house with several potions in hand. "Oh, Blade," Rosetta noticed, "Back so soon?" Blade nodded, holding out the potions. "Sarah was more than happy to let me have some," he explained. "Thank you," Rosetta replied, taking the potions, "Father will definitely be pleased." Before Blade could head back back out, Rosetta recalled something. "Did Sarah express any desire to head out tonight?" she asked.

"Nuh-uh," was Blade's reply, as he closed the door.

Rosetta walked to her father's room, carrying the potions in hand. Victor was currently busying himself with a book and quill he was using as a checklist. "Father," announced Rosetta, stating her presence. Victor turned around, noticing the potions. "Ah, Blade managed to come through," he noted, sitting up from beside his bed. Rosetta nodded in conformation, as Victor took the bottles. "Did he find anything else out?"

"Not really," Rosetta admitted, "but it doesn't look like anyone plans to head out tonight."

"Good," Victor approved, "It'll probably be best if we can observe him alone." His demeanor quickly shifted from busy to serious. "He's the first spawn I've seen in a while now," he continued, "He claims to be a recent one at that. We must make sure he is not a threat. If he is…" Victor menacingly pulled out his iron sword, "...he'll be taken care of accordingly."

"Father," Rosetta sighed, "stop being so dramatic; I'm certain he's harmless."

As the sun was several moments away from setting, the miners began turning in for the night. Stan was one of those miners, heading back to his house after a long day harvesting crops. "I'm home," he called out, his voice dialed down from his exhaustion. As he passed by his parents room, he noticed they were acting… rather giddy. Like some group of kids who shared a secret only they knew. He decided not to question it, rubbing his eyes as he continued to walk to his room.

As the curtain of the night was laid across the land, new voyages were slowly rising to the surface…

* * *

 _Pickaxe_

 _A Minecraft FanFiction_

 _Book Three: Fight 'Til The End_

* * *

 **Author's Note: The End is near… Just so you guys know, I'm finishing this chapter on January 8, 2018. To those who have read this far, thank you. I appreciate your support; it's probably what kept me going this far. In any case, wish Pickaxe and company luck! They're going to need it! -MathewtonSmashBrawler**


	42. Emergency Notice

**_ATTENTION FANFICTION READERS_**

I just wanted to start by saying I apologize. I never meant to leav any of tou waiting this long when I could have done it a long time ago. In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing it _right_ now. No time like the present?

 **Procrastination. Sucks.**

Anyways, if you want to know more about my situation, head to my profile. If you don't have the time for that sort of the, I basically won't be writing fanfics anytime soon. That means I won't vontinue current ones or start new ones... at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I won't be gone forever... I just won't be around for a long time. To my supporters, thank you for sticking with me for this long. But for the time being, this is goodbye. My sincerest apologies. Thanks

 _ **-MathewtonSmashBrawler** (August 8th, 2018)_


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